Kunoichi in the City
by Istoria
Summary: Female only teams would improve the selfesteem of all involved, right? Well, that's what Sakura thought at least. But when she finds herself in charge of one, she learns that her esteem isn't in trouble, it's her sanity. Alternate Reality
1. Sakura: Special Assignment

"Blossom to team, primary target is en route. Take final positions."

"Panda, in position."

"Sparrow, re…ready."

"Blossom to Sparkle… Dazzle… screw it, Blossom to Pig."

"It's not PIG! Damnit, I told you it was Pizzazz."

"That is not an acceptable code name, Pig."

"Shut the hell up. If you can pick Blossom and not Forehead, then I get to pick…"

"Panda to idiots. We've got movement on the target."

"All right everyone, listen up. Pizza or whatever, you're on. Sparrow, start tracking. Panda, I'll let you know when to fire."

They fall silent and for the first time since we got here, I think we might actually pull this off. The week of planning might actually come to fruition.

I pitched the idea of all kunoichi team to Tsunade-shishou a couple of weeks ago after mulling over it for a few years. Most kunoichi feel undervalued in their team of mostly guys. After all why should they bother pushing themselves if their male teammates steal all the glory? Or worse, their teammates seem to be under the impression that the females of the group have to be constantly protected. Letting them work occasionally on a team of all women would probably do wonders for their self esteem.

I pulled research papers, made charts, prepared a thirty page long thesis on the subject and went to present my case to her. She took one look at the first page of that proposal and said,

"Congratulations, Sakura, your proposal is accepted on a trial basis. Pull together a team and give us some in field data."

I realized at that point there was one thing I hadn't thought about. Actual implementation. I just assumed it would get assigned to some higher ranking Jounin. I didn't think I would get assigned it myself.

I didn't have a lot of time either. Tsunade had picked out a mission for a test run and it was in less then a week.

One thing I knew was that I would run the group. As the medic, I'd need to be out of the action anyway. And I'd like to think all those times people told me I was smart were the truth.

I'd started playing Go with Shikamaru since we're both in the Hokage's Tower so often, waiting for Tsunade-shishou. He said I have a knack for strategy and that someday, I might actually beat him.

"What would you do if you had to pull a team entirely composed of kunoichi?" I asked him right after my meeting with shishou.

"Kill myself," he said dryly.

"Shikamaru, I'm serious!"

"So am I. The idea of having a four woman cell, four warring sets of hormones, you'd have to be insane to try." He sighed. "But if I had to try… I suppose I'd have to find a balance."

"Balance?"

"Yeah. Personality, strengths and weakness. Find a balance and you'll find a team."

So I set about thinking about the kunoichi I knew. Unfortunately before I really got to thinking, Ino found me. Stupid Shikamaru. For all the whining he did about women, he was sure under the thumb of this one.

"I demand to be on your team," Ino stated.

"It's invitation only."

"Whatever. Tell me the mission specifics."

"I said you aren't invited!"

"Forehead, listen to me. I'm the key to any mission," she snatched the mission request out of my hand. "Assassination in a dance club... huh sounds like fun."

"I'll tell you all about it after it's over, Pig, because there's no way…"

"Fine. So long as you can answer one question. Who else are you going to get on such short notice that has the sex appeal to keep this guy's attention long enough to kill him?"

I hate when I don't have an answer. But not as much as I hate the smug look of satisfaction on her face. She was right though. Since she hit puberty, Ino has oozed femininity and sex. Every curve was bigger them mine, in the good way of course. She had the look, the eyes, the strut. Hell, even her hair behaved better then mine. The only thing I had going for me was that my father didn't greet boys at the door with his two friends and their fifty or so pointy weapons.

Not that it mattered. I had this stigma attached to me since Sasuke-kun left for Sound. It's like I was made this tragic heroine for everyone to admire. Oh look at Sakura pushing on even though the love of her life betrayed her and her village. She'll wait for him forever.

Actually… actually they were right. That's the part I hated the most. I was still waiting, and I probably would still be waiting while Naruto went off and became Hokage. I'm not supposed to think about Sasuke-kun but… it's just not something I've found a way to turn off.

Pining away for love though is what led me to my next team member. I knew that Ino would be able to distract the crowd enough that the bodyguards our target had would be a bit more relaxed. But at the same time, I couldn't account for the other people in the room. I needed to know who had weapons, who was possibly a shinobi and for that, I needed someone who could see everything.

"Ano… me?"

Hinata was still as meek as ever even though her ninja skills had improved by leaps and bounds lately. I think her father was training her, pushing her to accept her role as Hyuuga heir but… she was still so shy.

"Yeah, I need a good set of eyes," Sakura stated. "And you're the best I know of."

She turned that shade of red that always worries me. I always think she's going to just pass out in front of me one day.

"I would l…love to… ano… it's just… my family is worried if I take missions without… proper… supervision."

I got it. As Hyuuga heir, Hinata was a prime target outside of Konoha. It would be hard to get her family to agree to a mission unless I could prove she was in little danger.

"Ano… if you had an ANBU on the team…" she started and it took a minute to get who she was talking about. Hinata, for all the blushing and stammering, was a smart girl. She knew her family wasn't going to let her go with anyone. They wanted someone they trusted. And I wanted someone who was a good shot and female.

There's not doubt in my mind that Tenten is going to achieve her goal of being one of the best kunoichi of her time. She was already ANBU and from what I hear, she was gunning for a captain's slot. It was a bit intimidating talking to her sometimes. She seemed nice enough but she also had a reputation for being able to kill twelve men in twelve seconds.

And it didn't help that the day I went to speak to her, she was carting around a half ton battle axe for practice.

"It's for Neji's Kaiten," she said when I got stuck staring at it. "He's gotten a bit smug at the idea that he can repel anything."

I almost walked away right there but I remembered Hinata's stammering and I knew that I had to get this to work. She was a classic example of getting pushed to the background.

I explained the situation as best to her as I could without feeling stupid. Most kunoichi might feel undervalued but I doubted that Tenten fell into that category. I was expecting her to just laugh it off.

"Yeah sure, no problem. Just put in the request to my captain and I'll be there."

And with that I had my team of four. We met a few times just to go over some of the basics but we were all well trained at this point and the logistics of the mission fell into place. The only time we really had problems were code names.

"We should pick an animal as each code name," Tenten stated. "That's how we do it in ANBU."

"Forehead can be a shrew!"

"Don't even start with me, Pig."

"Don't call me PIG!"

"Ano…maybe I should pick…"

"If we're picking animals, what else would you be, Ino?"

"Something more elegant and feminine then you that's for sure."

A kunai hit the center of our table and Tenten successfully brought our argument to a close. "Hinata, what were you saying?"

She started twiddling her thumbs as we stared at her. "Ano… sp.. sp… sparrow!"

There was a long silence. "That's a good one," I finally managed.

"I'll take panda."

Silence descended on us again as we stared at Tenten. It was common knowledge that her ANBU mask was a dragon, teeth bared and snarling. And yet, she had just picked…

"Panda?" Ino laughed. "Are you serious?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's just… so not you. Pandas are cute and fluffy and…"

"I'm voting with Sakura on codenaming you Pig."

"WHAT? Hinata! Back me up here, Pig is not a good name for me."

"Ano… it's… a bit.."

"Okay, Tenten is Panda, Hinata is Sparrow, I'll take Blossom…"

"Blossom isn't an animal! If you get Blossom, I get Pizzazz."

"What the hell is pizzazz?"

"Something you'll never have Forehead."

"SHUT UP PIG!"

And yet somehow we had managed to survive long enough to get to this moment. I could see them via the small security camera we had installed so I knew what they were up to. Hinata was collecting plates as a bus girl while hiding her Byakugan eyes under a pair of sunglasses. She could scan the area and give us an idea of what we were facing.

Ino was walking into the room in a scandalous red dress. I think she left a few pieces of it back home but I'm not going to question her tactics. Three seconds in and Hinata is reporting that it was working.

Tenten, meanwhile, was outside tracking the target through a window, waiting for Ino to confirm his identity and Hinata to give her an okay that there were no civilians in the vicinity.

"Blossom-san, there's a man in the bar that is armed."

"Where?" I asked.

"Northwest corner of the bar."

"Panda?"

"I see him. Can't see any weapons."

"Pizzazz, brush past him and see what he's packing."

She doesn't respond for a while. I hear laughter through the microphone, hers of course. The man grunts something in response and she tsks before walking away. "It's a kunai holster," she whispers.

"Sparrow, start scanning for shinobi."

"Hai, Blossom-san."

"Panda can you take out our target and the other guy?"

"Sure can."

"Pizzazz, move on the target, we need to be quick."

There's that dread pause between when you issue an order and the time that your teammates execute it.

"There are three additional people in the room with chakra patterns consistent with genjutsu. I believe they are masking their true appearance."

I cursed. I hate when assignments get assigned to two different villages. I couldn't know if they were acting as protection or there to kill him as well. "Pizzazz, advance on the target."

"I can see her," Tenten reported. "She's about three meters and advancing."

"The shinobi are changing their positions, Blossom-san."

"Panda, get ready to take out the other shinobi first."

"Roger."

"They just grabbed her."

"Sparrow, extract her. Panda, take them out."

The tiny screen I'm waiting doesn't do them justice. I blink and Hinata is next to Ino. The guy that was holding her is delivered a swift chakra laced palm strike into his chest. She grabs Ino and pulls her away just as the blonde has finished implanting one of her heels into a body guard's thigh.

Then all the targets are down. I didn't even hear the twang of Tenten's bow as she shot the five men. I didn't even know how she had time to reload between each shot. One second, I'm watching them start to take off after Ino and Hinata and the next, they're on the ground, arrows embedded in their right eye.

And just like that we had our first mission success. But it wasn't enough for shishou to give us a full go ahead. A few more mission successes and she'd have enough data to start making the program a bit more formal.

That was fine and dandy. I just had to figure out exactly how I could keep my sanity long enough to make it work. Shikamaru was right…


	2. Ino: Important Question

"Mesh or bandages?"

"What?"

"What does a guy like more on a girl? Mesh or bandages?"

"What the hell kind of question is that!"

"I'm curious!"

"How the hell would I know that? I'm not a guy!"

"You sure act like one sometimes, Forehead."

"SHUT UP, PIG!"

You know, Forehead really needs to get laid or something. I can't take being the best friend of a basket case all the time. I just wanted a simple answer and she acts like I've broken the law.

"Can you two please settle down?"

Speaking of the law, here's our by-the-book team member. I mean, yeah she's teamed up with holier-than-thou Neji but Lee seemed to enjoy life occasionally. But no, it's always "You have to be more serious or you could be killed," or "You can't wear heels that high on a tactical mission…"

"Ano… I-I think I s-see our target."

And on the flip side, we have our little mouse that wouldn't dare offend anyone and therefore just tries to follow everyone's orders. It's amazing she doesn't just run around in circles all day.

Honestly, how I ever got on a team with these three…

"Panda, take the right flank, Sparrow, take the left. Pig and I will cover escape routes."

"Whatever, Forehead."

I smirked because I knew she hated it when I call her that. But it's only fair. She's the one who insisted on permanent code names and I mean what else could we use? I jumped down and covered the rear though I knew it was useless. Tenten and Hinata have flawless records at this point when it comes to assassinations.

I pulled out the nail file and smoothed a few of the rough edges on my hands while I waited. Sure enough a few seconds later the confirm kill order came in. Again, it was pointless but I walked over to where the other three were.

"Huh, I don't think this one is dead," I said, prodding the one with a kunai in his eye with my foot.

"What's wrong with you today!" Sakura demanded.

"I'm bored," I snapped. "These are trivial missions. When are they really going to give us something hard?"

"She is right," Tenten stated. "I mean, Chuunins could have taken out this bunch."

"Per-perhaps Hokage-sama thought it would be harder…"

"Perhaps she was drunk and didn't…" I interrupted.

"She's wasn't DRUNK!" Sakura yelled. "She just… doesn't have enough support in the council to grant us high level missions yet."

"You should have told us that from the start," I stated. "Fine, I suppose we'll have to keep doing these sorts of things until they realize our greatness. But until then, I suggest we start training in other ways."

"L-like how?" Hinata squeaked.

"By understanding how the majority of our targets think. So assignment one, mesh or bandages."

Tenten snorted. "What sort of assignment is that?"

"If we need to seduce enemy shinobi it'll come in handy. And after all, aren't you curious? I mean, obviously you wear bandages… unless you really are that flat-chested."

I tilted my head to the right just in time to avoid the carefully aimed senbon that was thrown to illustrate exactly how wrong I was.

"I'm just saying it would give us something to do."

"She's right," Sakura sighed. I almost passed out at that. Forehead… agreeing with me? "If we can show that we're taking this seriously enough that we work on our skills outside of missions, it'll give Tsunade more fodder to ask for higher level missions."

"Yosh!" I said, clapping my hands together. "We'll meet in one week and discuss our results."

A week later, I wasn't met with an enthusiastic group of young kunoichi. Instead, they seemed rather worn and unhappy. Tenten was sporting more then her normal number of bruises. Hinata was apparently trying to wear both mesh and bandages and Forehead looked like she was more then her usual state of annoyed.

I, on the other hand, was in perfect condition. But then I actually cared about things like my appearance and not looking like a total slob.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Your mission," Sakura replied.

I was in disbelief. "Are you kidding? I just asked you to find out some simple information! You could have just asked your teammates…"

"We did," Tenten replied.

I stared at them as I finally sat down. "Okay, well, I don't know what you did but I just asked Chouji and Shikamaru what they thought."

"Chouji said neither was edible and Shikamaru said both were too troublesome?" Sakura asked.

I flustered. Stupid Forehead. Of course that's what they said at first. "Well, I didn't give up at those answers. I kept asking until they said that there was no question that mesh was the best."

Tenten sighed. "Of course that's what they said. That's what you wear now! If you had asked a year ago, they would have said bandages."

"So? It's not like I would get upset if they said bandages." All three girls stared at me with disbelief. I frowned. "Well, it's not like I would get violent."

They didn't blink.

I resisted the urge to growl at them as that would only prove their point, and moved my attention to the Tenten. "Well, what about you? What did Saint Hyuuga and Bowl Top say?"

Tenten furrowed her brow for a second as if to ponder exactly what that meant but decided to just let it go and moved into her story instead.

She had found her teammates in the same spot as always, practicing on the field of their gennin days. There wasn't as much destruction as usual so she figured they must be in a good mood.

"Hey," she called out in greeting upon entering the center of the ring.

"Hi, Tenten!" Lee cried happily, suddenly appearing next to her.

"Aren't you supposed to be training with your other team today?" Neji asked, almost annoyed by the fact that she had broken into the training routine.

She ignored the sarcasm laced under that. "Look, I have a mission question. If you had to choose, would you prefer a kunoichi in bandages or mesh?"

"Bandages."

There was a brief pause and Tenten almost felt relief. That was much easier than she thought. She had expected some argument to occur because of it but…

Hang on… that was only one answer with two voices…

She looked up at her teammates, each of whom was shooting annoyed glances at the other.

"Of course, unlike other people, I only require support on my arms," Lee stated.

"It's not just a matter of support. Having extra provides enough bandages if there was a medical emergency."

Tenten cringed and attempted to take a step back. It was a stupid point to argue, any sane person could see that. But obviously, the two of them were never sane when it came to arguing.

"So what happened next?" I demanded, breaking into Tenten's narrative.

"They fought it out, took out about half the forest before I tried to stop them."

"Well that would explain the bruises," Sakura replied, reaching over and waving a chakra laced hand over it, forcing them to recede.

Tenten sighed. "Thanks, but honestly… they'll be back tomorrow. Those two would fight over what day New Year's Eve was on."

I cleared my throat. "Moving on… Hinata. Report."

"Ah," she jumped. "Ano… Shino-san preferred bandages and Kiba-kun was more favorable of mesh."

"Isn't that what they wear normally?" I pointed out. She nodded slowly. "You did ask them what they liked on a girl didn't you?"

Hinata turned a slight shade of pink and I sighed. No, of course not. She was too shy to ask anything like that.

"Forget it. Forehead." Sakura glowered at me for a moment. "So… what did you find out."

She cleared her throat and attempted to regain her composure. "I managed to track down Naruto and asked him exactly which he preferred."

"And?" I prompted.

There was a prolonged pause. "Both," she stated. "Mesh because it's good for draining ramen noodles in and bandages because you can use them if you get stuck in the bathroom and the paper runs out."

Tenten snickered and I was… well I think the disgust was plain on my face. "Your teammate is an idiot."

"Didn't argue that," Sakura replied.

I was going to move on when I saw an immense amount of fidgeting out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and noticed Hinata was attempting to sit still and failing miserably. She was still trying to find a way to make the mesh and bandages work together.

And then I realized it. The reason why she was so desperate to find a way to make the mangled mess work, why she was desperate to have both on at the same time.

"You like NARUTO!" I screamed, jumping out of my seat and pointing at her.

Hinata stopped moving and paled considerably. Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have yelled it but…

"INO!" Sakura yelled, yanking me back down into my seat.

"Ow!" I protested. "What is your problem?"

"Can you be more insensitive?" Sakura hissed. "Honestly, it's not like Hinata wants that to be common knowledge."

I blinked. "You knew?"

"Even I knew," Tenten stated. "I mean, it is obvious."

"It is?" Hinata squeaked, turning back to suddenly fidgeting.

"Huh, wonder why I didn't see it," I stated.

"Maybe if you were a bit less self-absorbed," Sakura replied.

But I didn't really hear her. I had a mission now, a mission of true love! Because even that idiot Naruto deserved to be happy. More importantly, it was for Hinata. That was the point of this whole project of Sakura's. Give kunoichi more confidence. I was going to help Hinata nail the man of her dreams and my nightmares.

Man, I am such a good person.


	3. Tenten: Train Wreck

When I was five years old, my parents took me on a vacation to the countryside. It was one of those classic family trips, you know, put the kids on the train and take them away from the city for a while. Three weeks of bliss on a farm just before my first day of school.

One day, the fence that surrounded the farm broke and a few of the cows got loose. We found most of them but one had wandered onto the rail tracks. There was nothing we could do, there was a train approaching and it was just too dangerous.

I knew what was going to happen. I knew. But I just couldn't look away. I just couldn't take my eyes away from the disaster that was going to occur. It's like I HAD to watch. I had to see it happen, in every detail. My stomach lurched, I got dizzy but I still couldn't turn away.

That pretty much sums up how I felt watching Ino go after Hinata. I almost felt worse for her then I had the cow.

"But Hinata-chan! You have such a great rack and it's going completely to waste," Ino whined.

Oh yeah. The cow was dancing through a field of daisies compared to Hinata.

I had to intervene. "Ino, maybe you should take it down…"

The wrath of the blonde turned towards me. "You are not helping! I am attempting to bring a bit of sunshine into the otherwise dreary existence of this poor, unfortunate soul and you are sitting there, with your logic and your rules and…"

"INO!" Sakura yelled. "Leave her ALONE."

Ino turned towards the pink haired girl and glared. "I am helping."

"No, you are terrifying her."

"There's nothing scary about this. She wants Naruto. Naruto's an idiot. Aggressive measures need to be taken."

If Hinata was fazed by that statement, it certainly didn't show. Of course, by now she had passed from turning into a tomato into attempting to implode so as to avoid all the attention.

"This isn't a mission!"

"Of course it's not," Ino snapped. "If it was, it would have to be at least S-rank considering who the target is."

"Did you ever think maybe Hinata doesn't want your help?"

"Just because YOU want to die a virgin doesn't mean the rest of us have to."

There was a bit of silence. I was calculating whether or not I could get out of the country fast enough to escape the impending explosion of Sakura's temper. Considering the way that vein in her forehead was throbbing, I realized that I'd have to traverse an ocean to be really safe.

And then, as a certain someone would say, Fate stepped in and saved us all.

"Good morning, girls," Tsunade said, a little louder than necessary. But then the small group of elders following her made it very apparent why she needed us to behave. We all jumped to our feet, gave a deep bow and sat down just as quickly.

"This mission is an extremely delicate one," one of the council members started, a rather evil looking smile growing across her face she spoke. "And as Hokage-sama has been singing your accolades during our meetings lately, we feel this is a true test of your skills. In fact, we are entrusting you not only with this mission but also with the training of one of our most promising ninja in order to be able to complete it."

I didn't have to see the scroll. I knew we were screwed. Taking a quick glance at the Hokage's face, I could tell she wasn't pleased about this either.

It made sense to me instantly. The council had been trying to sink this pet project of hers for months. I won't pretend to understand why. I have a hard enough time understanding Hyuuga politics. But I knew the Hokage had already pushed through a lot of changes that the council didn't like. And worse than that, in their eyes, the person she was grooming to be her successor was…

"Naruto?" Ino yelled suddenly. "You want Naruto on THIS mission?"

Sakura moved quickly and clamped her hands over Ino's mouth. "What Ino means to say is we gladly accept this mission and guarantee that it will be a success."

The council woman's face spoke the words that I was already thinking. Not likely.

Finding Naruto was not an easy task. He and his Sannin sensei had a habit of taking impromptu training trips and it appeared that they were smack in the middle of one when the mission came in.

It was decided that I was the perfect candidate to find him. Not for my ANBU tracking skills. Not for my ability to hone in on any target. No… because train wreck Ino had to scheme

"Listen to me, you have to let Hinata take the main role," Ino pleaded.

"And why is that?" I asked.

"Look, the entire plan revolves around Naruto and whoever we assign to the female role. This is the perfect chance to get them to hook up."

"You can't be serious."

"I can see it now, the dim lights, the soft music…"

"This is a mission."

And then she sighed dramatically. "You know, not everything in life is about missions. Please… just once. For Hinata."

Inuzuka trained her. Those perfect sad puppy dog eyes she produced… It was the only explanation as to why I buckled that fast and headed out on a fool's errand to a hot spring town just a few miles out of Konoha.

I found Naruto and the Sannin perched on a hill overlooking a public bath. Naruto looked bored while his sensei… was he drooling? I cleared my throat because apparently I wasn't going to get their attention otherwise. Naruto jumped but his mentor simply turned his spyglass from the bath house right onto my chest.

"Tenten-san," he smiled. "What a pleasant surprise."

The fact that he could recognize me by chest alone was rather disturbing. Not quite as disturbing, though, as when he stood up and advanced.

"A lovely young kunoichi sent to give me a message. Tsunade-hime is so kind," he continued, very deftly taking my hand and pulling it to his mouth.

"Sannin or not," I interrupted, "if you continue on that course of action, I will disassemble your hand bone by bone."

He paused for a moment and looked over at Naruto. The younger boy nodded frantically as if to say, yeah, this one is hardcore. I smirked and Jiraiya glanced at me for a second before his smile grew.

"You train with the Hyuuga boy, don't you?"

The smirk faded quickly. Though if I had to pick up one of my teammates' mannerisms at least it wasn't Lee's speech delivering ability.

"I'm not here for you," I stated dryly, pulling my hand free. "Naruto, you've been assigned a mission."

I must have blinked longer then normal because in an instant, Naruto had stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me away. He managed to yell good-bye to his sensei and barrage me questions about the mission at the same time.

It only took an hour to get back to Konoha but by then Naruto had approached an intolerable level of hyperactivity. And this is from someone who usually goes on missions with Lee.

"So this is with Sakura-chan's all girl team?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is."

"And it's an information retrieval mission?"

"Yes. The target will pass us the information during a formal ball."

For the first time since I told him about the mission, he quieted down. "So… I have to dance?"

I nodded. "It was at the insistence of the council that you come along with us."

"Man, they must really want you to fail this mission," he laughed nervously. "'Cause I can't dance… at all."

I looked over at him and gave him a sympathetic smile. "It'll be fine. Ino's got the whole thing planned out," I added, leaving out all the details of said plan.

I took him to the Hyuuga compound because that's where Ino was setting the stage. I expected candles and satin and a quartet of musicians because obviously Ino has read too many shoujo manga for her own good.

Not that I would know anything about shoujo manga. Of course not. I mean, it's not like I have a secret stash of the stuff under my bed protected by a multitude of traps.

That's just silly.

Instead, we got to the Hyuuga compound and found nothing had changed at all. Hinata was sitting on the sideline attempting to say something to get Ino and Sakura to stop screaming at each other.

"How can it be THAT hard to understand?" Ino yelled.

"You keep stepping on my feet!"

"Because your feet are as big as your forehead!"

"Hey!" I bellowed making sure I have their attention. "Honestly, acting like a bunch of squabbling children in the middle of the Hyuuga compound! You're embarrassing Hinata."

They both looked over at Hinata to confirm this, but by then the Hyuuga heiress had gotten a look at who was following me. Ino's eyes lit up and she completely forgot about Sakura.

"Naruto! Did Tenten fill you in? Okay, here's the skinny, you and Hinata will be posing as a loving couple at this ball. All you have to do is dance, meet the contact half way, get the scroll and give it to us. Then you guys can just spend the rest of the night…"

"Ah… I can't dance," Naruto interjected.

I took a few steps back for safety's sake. "What do you mean you can't DANCE?"

"Neither can you, Ino-pig!"

I cringed and watched Ino suddenly remember she was annoyed at Sakura. I contemplated putting a few more miles between me and those two but there was a familiar annoyed sound behind me.

"Is there a reason why those two are here fighting and not somewhere else… like Sound?"

I shook my head at Neji. "Sorry, we're here for mission training."

"Combat training?" he asked, eyeing the way Sakura and Ino were pulling out weapons.

I let out a long sigh and filled him in as quickly as possible, leaving out any mention of Ino's intentions. I knew that he and Hinata had gotten closer but I didn't know if he had moved from somewhat concerned distant cousin to overprotective insane older brother. His expression never changed but I could almost detect the hint of a smile.

"I see," he stated, taking a few steps forward and maneuvering himself between Sakura and Ino. At the presence of the Hyuuga prodigy, everyone seemed to come to order, though whether that was out of fear or respect was another question.

His glare made them part more so that he had an open area. A look in my direction was all I needed to know what he was planning. I jogged over to his location. "Left hand up on my shoulder. Give me your right one. Step left, follow with right, forward left ninety degrees, move left one eighty, bring left to right, restart."

To anyone else it was gibberish, I'm sure. But it was the same language we always used. Mind you, the location and degrees were usually where I was supposed to throw a kunai or senbon but using my feet instead was just as easy.

"Alter forty five degrees," he said, changing it into a more circular pattern.

To say it was natural to spin around the courtyard is an understatement. But if you can't trust your team leader implicitly, hesitation on a mission will get you killed. I didn't know how to dance but I knew how to follow orders. And after a few more minutes, Neji stopped speaking, knowing I had already memorized the pattern.

I couldn't wait to see the look on Ino's face.

There it is. Pure shock.

Just like the popular girl in a high school romance manga looks when the tomboy girl suddenly shows that she can be a girl… not that I would know anything about that.

"Come on, Naruto," I called. "It's not that hard, I'll show you how it's done." The eager boy bounced over.

"How do you know how to do that?" Ino demanded as Neji walked back to them.

"Every Hyuuga is trained in formal dance and etiquette," he replied dryly.

Ino looked over at Hinata and the girl shrugged meekly. It's not like they would have asked her.

"Well," Ino said, attempting to recover. "Then Hinata can teach Naruto…"

"No."

I glanced over Naruto's shoulder at the look on Neji's face. Okay, overprotective insane older brother it is, then.

For all the fun people make of Naruto's bumbling, he is actually quite graceful when he tries. It only took four hours and Sakura healing my bruised feet about twenty times before he got it.

Ino though… Ino was quiet. Eerily quiet. Like she was plotting. Or maybe she was giving up. I mean, having Hyuuga Neji act as a barrier between two people was about the same as putting a reinforced steel wall there instead. And it's not like Neji would ever back down. After all, a Branch member was duty bound to protect a Main House member. Especially, apparently, if it was from a plotting blonde kunoichi.

We had dinner that night in the Hyuuga compound. It was a relaxed environment, if you could ignore Ino trying to covertly get Naruto and Hinata to talk to each other while Neji blocked every attempt. I, of course, got roped into training after dinner because obviously if I was within fifty meters of Neji that was all he needed as an invitation.

Sometime around midnight, the weapons were finally collected and I was ready to go home. I had a mission first thing in the morning as it was.

"You'll be back in a couple of days, then," he said.

"Yeah. You didn't have a mission planned, did you?"

He gave the barest shake of his head. "Lee misses you and he is intolerable while you're gone."

Lee missed me when I went around to the corner deli. We both knew that. So his statement wasn't really necessary… unless he wasn't just talking about Lee.

"Ah, I see," I replied, knowing enough not to speak any of those thoughts out loud. "Tell him I'll bring him back something shiny then."

Then it was a smirk, his usual 'hn' and that was all I was getting for a good bye.

The next morning was uneventful. We made it to our rendezvous place in record time. Sakura was extremely pleased at how smoothly things were going. I realized that was in part due to the fact that Ino was well behaved. Beyond well behaved. She was pleasant and considerate, not bothering Naruto or Hinata at all.

I went to change for the dance while Sakura attempted to get Naruto into his tuxedo. From my room, I could hear him whining and almost felt sorry for him. After all, I just had a dress, stockings and shoes. And what a dress it was. One of those very long elegant black ones that swept the floor and had sleeves that fluttered in the wind as I turned. I liked it, simple and graceful.

The second I put on my dress, I realized something was very, very wrong. First, there were slits up the sides of the bottom that almost went to an indecent height. Second, it was missing the sleeves. Third, it was missing the back… all of the back. So standing there staring at my now bare back and wondering what force of gravity was going to keep the dress on, I knew there was only one person to blame.

I threw open the door and there she was with a smile that would scare the devil himself. It didn't help matters at all that she was looking me over like a wolf does a bunny rabbit.

"Hey, Tenten," Ino sang, "do you know that the only reason Hinata can come on our missions is because Neji said you're the only girl outside the clan that the Hyuuga trust with her safety?"

I wanted to have some snappy reply to that. I wanted to put her in her place with lectures about ANBU and being trusted by your captain. But all I could think was that Hinata was no longer the only cow on Ino's train tracks.

I just joined her.


	4. Hinata: Heiress

I knew she meant well. I did… really. But Ino-san was very, well, stubborn. Once she had her mind set on something, she rarely just gave up. She did not understand that helping me was not going to work, ever.

"Please Hinata-chan," she whined, shoving yet another shirt in my arms. "Just try this one on.

"Ano… I d-don't…"

The shirt was ripped from my hands and I did not need to look to see it was Sakura-san who had done so. She was angry, the green of her eyes turning dangerously black. She was terrifying at times, and at the moment I felt my heart beat faster as I could almost see the smoke coming from her ears.

I was pulled back just before Sakura erupted. There was a long sigh as I looked over at Tenten-san. She shook her head and wandered off to a bench under some trees and away from the squabbling friends.

"We really need to do something about her," Tenten remarked, motioning to Ino.

I nodded a bit and found a seat next to her. "She is… is very dedicated."

A very unladylike snort came from Tenten. "That's being polite about it."

It was not just polite. I appreciated that Ino took time from her day to help me with my problems, even if I had not asked for help. I know I am hopeless, a complete lost cause, so the fact that she still tried meant a lot to me.

"We need to distract her," Tenten continued. "Maybe convince Hokage-sama to send her on a mission… a long mission."

I knew that Tenten did not appreciate the help like I did but then she had little need for it. Amongst us, she was the highest ranked and already catching the attention of the Hokage herself. She had nothing to worry about.

I on the other hand… I had everything to worry about.

If it was not bad enough to have to deal with the idea that my clan, my family thought that I was not worthy of the title of heiress, Sakura-san had arrived today to inform us that despite our successful mission last week, the council had pulled funding for the group.

It may have explained why Sakura had passed so quickly from kunai and shuriken to something that resembled a large iron ball on a chain. Tenten moved quickly, separating them by pulling them apart by their collars like one does with two fighting dogs.

She paused for a second and then with a look of resignation took the shirt. "Hinata'll never fit in this. It's not even her color anyway."

Ino blinked in surprise as the older girl put the shirt against her skin. "You're right! It's more your color."

Tenten nodded. "I'll go try it on."

The sky looked like it lit up around Ino. The prospect of several hours of dressing Tenten up had lifted her spirits and made her forget about what Sakura had done. Sakura in the meanwhile watched in mild shock as Ino pulled Tenten away.

"Ano… she has practice," I whispered. "With Lee-san and Neji-niisan."

Sakura paused for a moment and nodded slowly in understanding. "Sorry, you know Ino brings out the worst in me."

"Sakura-san is under enough pressure already," I added.

She looked at me unhappily. "I just can't believe it's over. I just…" She growled and stomped her feet. "Stupid council. If they only gave us a bit more time."

"It was a very good idea," I continued, trying to make her feel better.

"I feel bad for you the most," she said and it caught me by surprise.

"Why?" I managed, finding most of my voice had stayed lodged in my throat.

"Because I know it was working," Sakura sighed. "Compared to where you were a few months ago… Tsunade-sama wanted you to test for jounin next month."

I blinked, in genuine surprise. "Ano, it's okay Sakura-san, you really don't have to…"

"Are you joking?" Sakura interrupted. "Hinata, you are unstoppable! There's not one thing during the missions we've done together that you haven't done perfectly."

My fingers were twitching and I suddenly had the urge to dig a hole and crawl into it. Why was she staring at me like that? "No… it's not like that… I just…"

Sakura sighed again and I could hear the exasperation in her voice. "I don't get it. You are so confident in the middle of a mission, but around your friends…" She frowned.

"Friends?" I asked.

Sakura blinked and nodded. "I'd like to think that when not trying to kill each other, we were getting to be good friends."

I smiled, genuinely. Before, it had been Kiba-kun and Shino-san and no one else. But to think that maybe now, I had more people who wanted to be my friend…

"INO!"

"It was an accident!"

I watched in surprise as Ino came running back towards us. She skidded to a stop behind me and grabbed on my arms.

"Hinata, don't let her get too close!"

"Hinata, get out of the way!"

"Let Hinata go!" Sakura yelled, adding to the mix of confusion.

There was nothing I could do but stand there and flail my arms helplessly as Tenten tried to maneuver around me to get to Ino. I noticed the source of her annoyance. One of her hair buns had fallen out of place, its ribbon a victim of Ino's meddling.

"But your hair is too nice to be all bound up all day!" Ino complained.

"Ano…" I tried, attempting to get a word in edgewise.

"That doesn't give you license to cut my ribbon when I'm not looking!"

"Hey! You guys are going to hurt Hinata if you're not careful."

I survived the tug of war that ensued mainly because Sakura had begun implementing the various verbal threats she tossed out normally. I did not wait to see the outcome but instead made my way home as quickly as possible.

It was only after I had shut the gate behind me that I let out a sigh of relief. One that was quickly retracted as I heard the familiar voice boom across the courtyard.

"Hinata, a moment of your time."

I snapped to attention and bowed deeply. "Of course, oto-san."

I quickly fell into step behind him. He had no real destination in mind but instead walked for a bit before continuing. "I am traveling this week," he said. I nodded briefly. "There is a clan head meeting though, tomorrow. You'll go in my stead."

It was not a request, I knew that. But to say I was surprised would be an understatement. Usually he would send one of my elder relatives in his place. To give me this honor… I could barely get through a coherent agreement before he turned and walked away.

A clan head meeting! I had never been to one before. I knew well enough what happened there and the thought of representing my family… I think my stomach just crawled through my toes and ran away.

I headed back to my room and looked in the mirror. I was a mess! My hair was in disarray. My clothing was in no way appropriate for an important meeting. I went to my closet and shuffled through the mounds of things there. A few yukata, but I didn't know if there was anything that would count as just formal enough without being a full blown kimono.

I panicked. For what felt like only five minutes but turned out to be several hours, I circled the floor and desperately thought about what to do. And then it hit me… I knew someone who just might be able to help. I picked up the phone and dialed information. A few short exchanges later and I could hear it ring.

"Yamanaka Flower Shop."

I took in a deep breath. "Hello, may I please speak with Ino… please."

The man on the other line sighed. He bellowed, so loudly that I momentarily lost hearing in my right ear. I suddenly understood where Ino got her energy from.

"What do you want, Forehead?"

I cleared my throat and squeaked first before I could actually find the word. "Ino-san… this is Hinata."

"Oh! Sorry about that. Dad's never good at telling who's on the line."

"It's… fine. Ano… Ino… I have a problem. You see… my father wants me to attend a very important meeting and I… well I don't really have anything to wear. So I was wondering… umm… if you could come out shopping with me."

There was pause. A very long pause. She must not want to come. And now she's trying to be polite about it so I should give her a way to…

"Hinata… how would we be paying for said… purchase?"

I blinked. "Well, we have credit in most stores in Konoha and I'm sure my father won't mind."

Another long pause, followed by something that almost sounded like a squeal of delight. "Of course, Hinata! I'd love to help. I'll be over in a few minutes, okay?

I was about to agree but she had already hung up the phone. Odd, but I guess she wanted to make sure she got here in time. I wandered outside just in time to see Neji-niisan and Tenten returning from their latest training session.

Tenten waved to me but she looked positively exhausted. She was almost completely covered with dirt. I was about to ask them about their day when Ino appeared, dragging a rather irate-looking Sakura behind her.

"Okay, okay," Ino smiled, coming to a halt. "Tell Sakura what you told me."

I was slightly confused. "Ano… I need something to wear…"

"After that," Ino interrupted.

"I asked you to help me look…"

"No, no, get to the part about paying for it."

I looked at Neji-niisan but he gave me a blank stare in response. "You don't have to pay for it," I replied. "We have credit at stores."

Sakura's disposition changed instantly. "Credit?" she asked. "As in… you can buy anything?"

I nodded slowly. Sakura turned to Ino and they had the same sparkle in their eyes. I could feel the mood shift. The happier Sakura and Ino became, the more Neji-niisan glared at them.

"Okay! So shopping trip it is! We'll have to start at the smaller boutiques first because they close earlier then the main department stores. Oh and shoes… hmm… that's almost a trip in itself but I think we can…"

"You needed a new… shirt, didn't you, Tenten."

We all stopped talking. But then, of all the things in the world that Neji-niisan could have said, I don't think any of us could have expected that. Including Tenten-san. And she was not looking very happy about it.

"I what?"

He cleared his throat and looked at her. There was a wordless conversation that passed on between the two. I could see what Neji-niisan was trying to relate. He was not happy with giving Sakura and Ino the chance to bankrupt the family. And Tenten was not very happy at being sent off on an errand to babysit them.

"Oh, THAT shirt," she finally said. "The one you ruined during practice and said you'd pay to replace, right?"

He bristled, slightly, but nodded before turning on his heel and walking away, missing the fact that his teammate swatted at his shin with her foot. "I need to clean up a bit first," she demanded.

"Fine, quick stop at your house and then we're good to go?" Ino asked, grabbing my arm.

I was not even able to reply. There was what sounded like a battle cry from Sakura, a dejected sigh from Tenten and Ino took off.

I have read about some of the greatest shinobi battles of our time. The accounts spare no detail, graphically portraying the lives and deaths of the heroes of Konoha and their enemies. I thought that would prepare me for any real life battles I would face.

However, the carnage that was once the ladies' formal wear of the Konoha Department Store was more terrifying then anything I could have imagined. Various yukata and suits lay scattered across the dressing room floor, victims of Sakura and Ino's rabid decision making process. A team of six salespeople scurried about, grunts under the command of those two, traversing the the trenches of the clothes racks.

It was the same process over and over again. Sakura and Ino would shove something at me, I would put it on, they would argue about what was wrong with it and then they'd send me back with something new. It should have been exhausting. I should have been frustrated with the whole process.

But I had never been happier. It was the first time I had seen Sakura and Ino act like the best friends they really are. They laughed and chatted about trivial things like fashion and movie stars while I dressed myself with their latest decision. And when they couldn't decide what was wrong with their latest choice, they turned to Tenten who, with her normal deadly precision, would find exactly what they hadn't been able to articulate.

Neither Ino nor Sakura could figure out how she did it. But I caught a glimpse of the fashion magazine she shoved behind her back each time we came out. Tenten just smiled and winked me into keeping the secret.

Three hours later, I stood in front of the mirror, wearing a light lavender yukata with a black obi. All three of the other girls nodded in approval and behind them, I saw the sales staff almost collapse in relief. Taking a look at what remained of the department, I could understand why. We had stripped the racks clean. The place looked like a bomb had gone off.

I signed for the clothing while Sakura and Ino looked on with envy. The cashier bowed very deeply afterwards, though when she said she hoped to see me again soon I could tell it was a bit forced.

"All right, let's go get something to eat," Tenten stated as soon as they handed me the shopping bag. "There's an ice cream shop here. We can get shakes, courtesy of your cousin," she said to me.

"I thought he said you needed a shirt," Sakura asked.

"Shirt, shake. Close enough," Tenten replied, a bit of venom in her voice. Deciding it was best not to debate it anymore, we just followed her to the store.

I don't know where the time went but somehow we managed to close the shop down. Somewhere between the stories from our academy days and various missions we had been on, it occurred to me that Sakura had been right. We had become friends. There was never a lull in the conversation except when laughter had overtaken us so much that we had to stop to catch our breath.

When it came time to go, I realized I didn't want to leave. Because, with the council disbanding us, there might just never be another moment like this. That night, I could only toss and turn in anticipation of my big day tomorrow and intermittent in those worries was the fear that I was about to lose the best thing that had happened to me in ages.

I got numerous compliments on my attire before the clan head meeting started. At least word would get back to my father that I had presented myself well. I was silent for the rest of the time, listening to the various reports delivered concerning the state of Konoha and what we, as leaders of the community, should do about it. Hokage-sama was there, listening intently to the discussion and an elderly woman to her right acted as a representative from the Elder's Council.

"The Council just cancelled funding for reconstruction efforts on fences surrounding public places."

I looked up and realized it was Kiba's mother who had taken the floor.

"The Inuzuka clan can pay for keeping our own grounds up to code but you can't expect us to foot the bill for everyone else too. It's not just our dogs that can be the problem. The Nara deer can do just as much damage."

"We can ask them reallocate some of the funds they put aside for replacing the lamp posts in the main commercial district," someone sighed. I looked over and marveled a bit at Shikamaru's resemblance to his father.

"That decision was made based on the idea that a more attractive commercial district would bring in more revenue," the elder replied.

"What good's a pretty commercial district if all the parks around it have been destroyed by the animals?" Kiba's mother interjected.

The elder considered it for a moment and then nodded. "There should be more than enough in the funds to finish the fences and line at least the main thoroughfare with better lights."

Kiba's mother nodded and sat down. Hokage-sama called for any other suggestions and it suddenly hit me. The council had cancelled something and Kiba's mother had gotten it reinstated by asking to bring it back. If she could ask about fences, then maybe…

No! I couldn't do it. Father had trusted me to sit here and represent the Hyuuga well. I couldn't beg them to reinstate Sakura's group. If they denied it, then my family would look bad.

But I thought of how much Sakura wanted her plan to work. I remembered our missions, the flawless record we had on them, how well we worked together. And I remembered us last night, as friends, something that would never have happened if we hadn't come together as a team first.

And Sakura was right, it was working. If I was growing stronger, it was because the rest of them were too. The thought of it ending now…

"Yes, Hinata?"

My heart stopped for a moment. I looked down at my feet and realized I had stood up without even realizing it. Everyone was looking at me and waiting for me to say something.

I started to speak but my words caught in my throat. I stopped and took in a deep breath, clenching my fists tightly. I couldn't back down now.

"Haruno Sakura had a great plan," I said, my voice even and steady. "One that has already proven itself it viable and successful. But it is also one that has been cancelled because the Council pulled funding. And that is a real tragedy, something I hope we can correct." I looked around the room and realized they were still looking at me. But it wasn't with mild curiosity over what the Hyuuga heiress could possibly have to say. They were actually interested now. I looked over at the Hokage and saw her smile.

A few hours later, back in my normal training clothes, I was walking down the road when I barely managed to brace myself against the impact of a running hug. Sakura was attached to me, bouncing happily, and somewhere in her excited ramblings I got the message clear enough. Hokage-sama just told her we were reinstated.

She took me to Ichiraku for ramen to celebrate and I was surprised to see so many people there. Apparently Sakura had told Ino earlier and she turned what should have been a quiet celebration into a rather loud party involving almost everyone I knew. I found a seat… no, Ino found me a seat and then two minutes later, she found Naruto a seat next to me.

Crawling under the table was not an option so I just reverted to my normal state of trying to fold in on myself. To say I was glad when Tenten suddenly appeared in the seat next to Naruto would be an understatement. I didn't really need to know who had shoved her there. The irate look on her face spoke volumes.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed happily as she sat down. "I haven't seen you since we got back."

Tenten smiled. "Yeah, been a bit busy. I still owe you that bowl of ramen, right?"

He shook his head and turned a bit pink. "Nah, it's okay. I know you were just saying that to try to help me calm down and keep the mission going."

"Well, if someone hadn't messed with my dress, it wouldn't have been a problem," she replied, making sure that Ino overheard her.

I listened a bit more intently, somewhat curious about how her dress translated into free ramen for Naruto. It had been a bit confusing at the time as well. Not to say that Tenten didn't look stunning in the remodeled dress Ino had made her. It had, in fact, made the mission easier. Naruto had been able to retrieve the scroll while most of the party's attention had been on Tenten.

"I shouldn't have gotten so nervous," Naruto countered. "I just… wow, you were really hot."

I blinked and looked over at Naruto. Tenten had turned a bit pink and waved him off. Ino was looking over with interest. And Neji-niisan had just taken the seat to my left. I watched Ino's gaze shift to him and I looked at her in surprise.

No way. There was no way she seriously thought that that was going to work.

"No really! I mean, I knew you were cute, but that dress, with the legs…"

"It wasn't anything that special," Tenten said, finding some hair to tuck over her ear.

"It was! You have great legs! Ero-sensei would probably pay you lots of money to model for him," Naruto added sagely. "And the back… man, that was the best part."

Did Ino really think that this was going to make someone jealous? I mean, yes, there was a part of me that would have loved to have Naruto stare the way he did at Tenten that night but… it's not like it actually meant anything. It was a mission!

Tenten laughed, though it was something more like a feminine giggle. "I thought that was your least favorite part."

Naruto put a hand on his head. "Eh, only because I felt bad having to hold you there. What with the sweaty palms and all."

I might not be able to control my nervousness around other people but jealousy? Hyuugas were much too emotionally restrained to fall victim to something like that.

"Oh, so that would explain why your hand kept slipping lower than it should have?"

Something attracted my left ear's attention so I looked over.

Oh… dear. I was not aware that you could crumple a metal spoon with your bare hands in such a small little ball.

Ino's face flashed a bit of triumph and I saw her entire plot unfurl. I stood up quickly, knowing that I had to do something before she executed it. "Neji-niisan, my father's coming home soon and we should report to him."

I did not wait for a reply, assured in the fact that he would follow me out of familial duty, and quickly waved goodbye as I left the stand. I didn't want to be bossy about this but for whatever reason, Ino's constant plotting must have finally gotten under my cousin's skin. And having seen what happened to Lee when he did the same…

I shuffled quickly down the road, determined to put as much space between us and Ino as possible.

"Neji!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Tenten coming up quickly towards us. I looked over at my cousin and found him regarding her impassively. "Neji, listen I need to ask you…"

"Ino, get out of Tenten's body," he interrupted.

Tenten blinked and was about to say something more when Neji spoke again. "I'll amend that. Get out of Tenten's body and then I suggest you put at least 200 meters between you and her, or need I remind you about her aim"

Tenten huffed and put her hands together. She slumped towards the ground but Sakura appeared and caught her before she hit it. A moment later, Tenten woke up. Before Sakura could do anything, she hissed something that, needless to say, is not something to repeat in polite company. Or any company for that matter. They both disappeared a second later.

"Your friends are… odd," Neji stated.

My smile grew broadly. "Yes, they are, aren't they?"


	5. Sakura: Succumbing

At this moment, there is one simple truth in life. One single fact that must be adhered to or the entire universe will be in peril.

Yamanaka Ino must die.

I know she's my best friend and I know that she can get somewhat unbearable. But nothing prepared me for the evil plot she had just hatched.

I was very happily enjoying a day off. That is twenty four hours away from the hospital, training with shishou and even my beloved kunoichi cell. But I needed a break. Or at least Tsunade-shishou convinced me of that.

Okay, maybe it was due to the fact that I put someone in a full body cast when they only needed a finger splint.

I had things to get done anyway. So I got up early, wore something cute and started to run a few errands.

I knew something was wrong when people kept whispering around me. I figured it was probably part of being the Hokage's student so I tried to ignore it by holding my head high and appearing unfazed. It was a great plan until some guy let out a low whistle and called to me like I was a cat.

"Excuse me?" I said, whipping around to face whoever had just volunteered to get pummeled into the ground.

But before I could find him to give him a piece of my mind, there was a flash of green and Lee suddenly appeared.

"Sakura-san!" he cried, his eyes already glistening with tears as he grabbed my hand.

"L-lee…" I started, sure I was turning a lovely shade of red as the entire marketplace turned towards us.

"Please do not open yourself to the distrustful masses of men! As a beautiful flower of Konoha, they will no doubt try to take advantage of your innocence and purity. I am already tall and my hair is dark, so please tell me how to be mysterious enough so that you might turn your affections towards me and not some stranger who would seek to…"

And it went on.

Somewhere in all that, I saw the newspaper folded carefully inside his vest. There was a large red circle around what appeared to be a classified ad. But when I got a bit of a closer look, I snatched it quickly away from him.

_Cherry blossom seeks tall, dark and mysterious man to fill the gaping void in her heart. Very shy so please make the first move. I like to play hard to get but I really just want to be caught._

"INO!" I shrieked, cutting off Lee's romantic speech and silencing the entire market as they cowered in fear.

An hour later, I had called Tenten and Hinata over to my place under the pretense of a mission briefing. It wasn't an actual, Hokage-assigned mission but it was important and I needed them here.

"Operation Get Ino a Boyfriend?" Tenten asked, reading the slide I had just put up on the screen.

"Yes!" I replied. "Is that a problem?"

Tenten looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. "It's more the fact that you own a projector for your computer, a presentation screen and… you put together a slide show for this?"

_Why is she looking at us like we're insane?_ Inner suddenly demanded from inside my head.

"What? What's wrong with that!" I demanded, echoing the sentiments of my other half. "We need to be organized!"

"Yeah… but…"

"Ah, please Sakura-san," Hinata interrupted, putting a hand on Tenten's arm to quiet her down. "Continue with your plan."

I nodded, glad that someone was taking this seriously. "Since we have started this team, Ino has made it her mission to make our lives a living hell. If it's not pushing us into uncomfortable positions," I continued, clicking the presentation forward to a photograph of Ino pushing Naruto onto the seat next to Hinata at the ramen shop. "Or forcing us into things," up came the picture of Ino preparing the Shintenshin no Jutsu on Tenten. "She's absolutely HUMILITATING US."

I pressed the button on the remote a bit harder then I would have liked but they'd see soon enough why I was so angry. The picture of the newspaper personal came up on the screen.

"You made… a slide show," Tenten said again.

"Ano, this is about you? But you are not shy."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" I yelled, ignoring the fact that Hinata had latched onto Tenten for dear life.

"Okay, fine," Tenten relented, attempting to get her arm back. "What is the point?"

"I looked it up in some of my psychology books. Ino," I stated firmly, "is attempting to live vicariously through us. What she is trying to tell us is that no one is searching for a boyfriend for her when that's all she really wants."

I pressed the remote again and the 'Objectives' slide came up. "Each of us, today, will pick one boy from the following slides and convince them to take Ino out on a date. Failure is not an option. We will succeed!"

_HELL YEAH!_ Inner cheered.

I ignored the way Hinata and Tenten were looking at each other. I was the unspoken group leader and I knew both of them would follow orders if it came to it. "Let's begin."

The first slide came up.

"Okay, so this is Akimichi Chouji," I continued as I pointed to the slide. It had all the most important information we would need. "Height, weight, blood type, astrological sign, interests and dislikes," I rattled off as I walked over and got the large poster board. I pulled the cap off the marker and wrote _Yes_ and _No_ at the top of it.

"We'll separate them first by viability and then pick from the list of survivors! Any questions?" Tenten raised her hand but Hinata quickly pulled her arm down.

"Ch-chouji-san is very nice, but… ano I do not think Ino-san has any interest in him romantically."

I nodded and started to add him to the _No_ side.

"I don't see why we're dismissing him so quickly," Tenten said, forcing me to stop writing. "I mean, they've been friends since childhood and on a team for the last few years."

"So dating a teammate is okay?" I asked with a small smile in her direction.

She glared at me and adopted a rather sour looking frown. "Put him in the 'no' category."

At least we were making progress. I pulled the next slide up. "Nara Shikamaru. Same problem as Chouji, plus there's the whole Temari thing."

"Wh-what Temari thing?" Hinata asked. I guess the surprise on my face was better then words. "I thought they were just friends."

"Please," I replied. "Every time she comes here, he's always hanging around her."

"It's more like a forced partnership courtesy of Hokage-sama. Temari says he's always complaining about how 'troublesome' the entire situation is," Tenten added.

My head snapped to stare at her. "You talk to… Temari?"

Tenten nodded slowly. "Sure."

"But she… well the first chuunin…"

Tenten let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I got beat by her pretty badly. And sure, it made me all depressed and moody for a few days but then Gai-sensei told me that I should look at it as an opportunity to grow. He said rivals are important for becoming a better shinobi."

I snickered. "Oh… you didn't."

Tenten bristled slightly. "What? Having an eternal rival isn't a bad thing."

I could barely contain my laughter. "What's your… record?" I managed.

Apparently, not that good since all I got was a withering stare and two terse words. "Next slide."

Kiba was the next specimen and I looked directly at Hinata for her input. She took a few moments to think about it and then shrugged. "Well, Kiba… ano Kiba is…" She frowned. "Kiba is very nice and considerate of people but… ano…"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "He's socially inept. Every time we all go out for ramen, he has Akamaru with him and they eat out of the same bowl. Can you imagine what happens if he takes Ino to a movie and the three of them have to share the popcorn?"

Hinata smiled a bit. "It would be fun to watch though."

I put him on the _No_ side and proceed to the next slide. "Aburame Shino?" I didn't think it was possibility. After all, the idea of going out with a guy who had bugs crawling all over him…

"Ino stepped on a spider once in front of him," Hinata said. "I don't think he has forgiven her for that."

A smack to the forehead later, I quickly added him to the _No_ column. "Guys, come on! There aren't a lot of choices left." I advanced the show forward and up came the information for Hyuuga Neji.

"I guess we can just skip this one," I said, getting ready to press the button.

"Why?" Tenten asked, anger creeping into her voice.

I looked at her, suddenly very aware of the fact that she had at least twenty weapons on her I couldn't see. "Well, it's just that… you know…" I floundered.

Hinata stepped in to save me. "It's just that… ano you and Neji-niisan always train together and…"

Suddenly, Tenten stood up. "That's great. You know, I'm used to it from other people but I guess I was an idiot for hoping it wouldn't be the same in this group."

"No wait, I didn't mean it that way," I tried, suddenly realizing that she was not simply angry. She was genuinely upset.

"Yeah, you did." Tenten said in a dejected tone. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be just 'that girl that trains with Hyuuga Neji'?" Hinata looked distressed and I was at a loss of words. "So what, my greatest accomplishment will be advancing to 'that girl that dates Hyuuga Neji'?"

Inner was quiet and I knew she was hiding in the back of my mind. I wished I could join her.

"You should understand," Tenten continued. "After all, we have 'that girl that's always nervous around Uzumaki Naruto' with us today." Hinata shrinks into the couch. Well that's just cruel. Not _everyone_ thinks that.

"And to the front we have 'that girl that's always pining after Uchiha Sasuke'."

My stomach sinks. I'm ready to tell her she's wrong but…

_She's not wrong_, Inner whispers.

"We've spent our entire lives as 'that girl'. We've been defined by the men in our lives," she added. "But think about Ino. Does anyone refer to her as 'that girl that follows around Nara Shikamaru'? Or 'that girl that has dinner all the time with Akimichi Chouji?'

"No, she is Yamanaka Ino. Not one person in this village would ever refer to her as anything else. So yeah, it's really annoying to have her on our cases sometimes. But I don't think she's living vicariously through us at all. I think she's trying to bring us up to her level. She's trying to remind us that we're not just 'that girl'. We're kunoichi and we should be able to be known for that fact alone.

"So if it means that I have to tolerate a bit of hair brushing or being forced into clothes or even being subjected to a bit of humiliation, it's okay. I get it. I need to accept the fact that I need to be more outwardly feminine, just like Hinata needs to be a bit bolder and Sakura needs to move on."

She collapsed back into the seat. "I'm sorry," she finished. "It's just…"

Hinata shifted a bit. "You're right. I know…I need to speak up more. And last week… last week I did," she smiled.

I blinked. "Wait. You mean it was you at the council meeting?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. I didn't think I could do it but…" She clenched her fists tightly. "But I just thought of all of you and I just knew I had to."

"Hinata," I started but I could already feel the tears welling up.

Hinata panicked and started flailing her arms. "I'm sorry! I just meant to say that Ino-san isn't the only one to help me get stronger. She is the main instigator but I know you all are concerned for my welfare."

Even Tenten seemed to be concerned by the fact that I was about ready to burst out crying. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have been so… mean about it," she tried but I shook my head.

Not because I didn't accept her apology. She was right. God help us, she was right. Ino, in some warped and twisted way, was really trying to help us. And if that meant she was right about Tenten and right about Hinata… then…

I started to cry. Not because of anything anyone said here but because I realized that Ino was right about me most of all. This whole mission idea had been because I couldn't face that fact that what she did was try to get me over him.

But I couldn't. It was like someone had just ripped something right out from my chest. And I tried to fill it with missions and training and anything I could think of but it didn't go away. I just couldn't get past the day he left.

I started this group because I wanted to help other kunoichi grow stronger. And I didn't realize I was one of the people who needed it most. It doesn't matter that I train under the Hokage herself. Or that I'm leader of this cell. Or that I went with Sai and Naruto and fought against him. In some ways, I'm still Haruno Sakura, age 13, standing in the middle of that street at night watching him leave.

Hinata had disappeared and Tenten was attempting to comfort me by placing an arm over my shoulder. She was trying to not look uncomfortable but I doubted she had ever been in a situation like this. She never struck me as the hysterical female type.

By the time Hinata returned with a tray of tea, I was starting to calm down.

"I really am sorry," Tenten said again.

"No it's not that. You're right you know. I do pine," I laughed. "I mean, I try not to but…" I sniffled and Hinata handed me a tissue followed by a cup of tea.

"I'm so pathetic," I managed, destroying the first tissue and moving on to the next.

"You're not at all," Hinata replied.

"Yeah I am. I know he's not coming back and even if he did, he's not the same person at all. I just miss the old him, which is stupid and illogical and…"

"Everything that love is, ne?" Hinata smiled.

"No one is saying that you have to forget that memory of him," Tenten added. "But I think Ino, if we ignore the total invasion of privacy, had the right idea. You're always so busy with work or training but you need to be happy too. And workaholics are not happy."

I snorted. "Unless they're prodigies."

Hinata and Tenten laughed a bit and I managed a smile. "You know what the worst part is? If Ino finds out, she is," I sniffled, "going to be impossible to deal with. I mean worse than now. It'll be a whole new level of annoying and meddling."

"Convincing Hokage to send her on a mission isn't going to work," Tenten added sagely. "I tried." We both looked at her in surprise. "I'm kidding," she whispered, looking a bit sheepish.

"We could convince Hokage to give her a genin team," Hinata said.

"No!" I cried out in mock terror. "Then in a month there'd be Ino and three mini version of her harassing us."

"Okay, I'd take a mission to the Akatsuki stronghold over experiencing that any day," Tenten laughed.

"So we don't tell her that she's right," I told them with firm resolve.

"But we do listen more," Hinata added.

Tenten frowned. "Even if it kills us… which I'm pretty sure it will."

"Well at worst, we have a bit of fun on the way down," I said. But I could tell from the looks on their faces that no one was buying it. And why would they? We were saying that Ino was right. We were pretty much giving her license to enter into our lives and meddle.

Yeah, there was no way she was ever going to find out.


	6. Ino: Incorrect Perceptions

**Author note: This has been on my PC beta-ed and ready to go for a week now. It's hard when you've managed to burn yourself out creatively to convince yourself that what you've written isn't nearly as bad as you think it is. This chapter still feels off... but after six months, it's not a surprise that my rhythm isn't as easy to find as it should be. Apologies for the very long delay, this might not be the best but at least it'll get me back on track.**

* * *

**_Ino - Incorrect Perceptions_**

No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't stop it. When the enormity of our situation set in, I started to cry.

"It's all my fault," I managed, forcing words through the sobs.

Sakura looked over, somewhat horrified as I clung to her shirt. "Ino... It's not your fault entirely. I mean, I wasn't exactly paying attention."

I shook my head vigorously. "It's not just that," I said.

"Ino... please don't shake us..."

I couldn't help it. I don't cry a lot but when I do, it's hard to stop. "It's everything!" I wailed.

Sakura yelped as the net we were caught in moved back and forth. If I wasn't hysterical, I would have probably understood why she was panicking. Twenty feet off the ground, swinging precariously over a pit of spears was terrifying enough. Having the only other occupant in said net shaking it with such force that the rope that held it suspended started to creak...

"Ino... we'll be okay," Sakura tried, putting a hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

"No it won't," I replied. "You all hate me!"

"What? Ino, we don't hate you."

"Yes you do."

After all, I had heard what they thought of me. I hadn't planned on snooping, I was just curious how Sakura's day was going. The ad in the paper had been a work of genius and I heard rumors that Rock Lee had turned over half of Konoha to find her. He was odd but... well, it was better then her constant pining over that traitorous bastard.

I went to her house to casually demand all the details but she had the other girls over. It was their own fault for leaving the window open. We live in a village filled with shinobi. It was almost an invitation to eavesdrop!

_"...impossible to deal with. I mean... annoying and meddling."_

_"Convincing Hokage to send her on a mission isn't going to work." _

_"We could convince Hokage to give her a genin team," _

_"No! Then in a month there'd be Ino and three mini versions of her harassing us."_

I didn't cry then. Sure it hurt to hear, but whatever. If they weren't going to appreciate all my hard work trying to make them happy then that was their loss. Honestly, they're all completely hopeless; I don't even know why I bothered to help in the first place. I don't need them.

I had other friends after all. They'd listen to me.

Finding them, though, was not as easy as I thought. Shikamaru was notorious for disappearing for hours and he changed his cloud-watching spot regularly to avoid the steady stream of people who needed him for one reason or another. I don't understand why he can't be more responsible. If he had any ambition or drive he could probably be a jounin already.

"Too troublesome," he always said. "All that means is more work."

In the end, I found him in the Hokage's Tower, coming out of a meeting with the Hokage herself and looking dour as ever. "Shika-kun!" I smiled. "Take your old teammate out for dinner!"

He looked at me as if he was actually considering it. That could only mean that whatever Hokage had told him was bad news. Taking me out was always troublesome. To almost agree without protest...

"Can't. Have a mission," he muttered.

I frowned. It was bad, at least that's what his actions said. "Sure, I bet," I smiled. "You just owe me two dinners when you get back."

He managed to smirk a bit after that. "Che, whatever, woman," he muttered as he started to walk away.

"Are you taking Chouji?"

"Nah, he's all yours."

Well this was most definitely troublesome. Because Shikamaru always took Chouji with him. He took him to go retrieve Sasuke, and that was knowing it was more then likely a suicide mission. This had to be worse. This had to be just walking into a known trap with zero chance of survival. This...

"Honestly, you'd think I just asked him to kill his best friend, not go to Southern Wind Country for a delivery," Tsunade complained, coming out of her office to watch him go. "Not even like there's any real danger that way. It's more like a vacation."

The urge to kill Shikamaru was strong. Lazy, son of a bitch. Only he would think a two week delivery mission was worse then near death fights. I should have wrung his neck but I knew it wouldn't matter. He'd just call me troublesome as he slowly asphyxiated. Jerk.

I decided instead to go find Chouji. Unlike his best friend, Chouji was always reliable when it came to searching for him. If he wasn't at home, he was at the barbecue place. If he wasn't there, then it was the ramen place. If he wasn't there... well Konoha had a finite number of restaurants. Still, I lucked out. Chouji was at home training with his dad.

Yeah, I know, I'm the most shallow person in the world. I like pretty boys and nice clothes and I'm too busy with my hair to care about anything else. Tack on a few more stereotypes about blondes, there's nothing I haven't heard. So it will most likely come as a shock that not only do I like watching Chouji and his dad fight, I actually find it beautiful.

They stood in the center of a ring and then suddenly it was like two mountains colliding against one another, jostling back and forth and shifting the ground beneath them. Must people think they're just pushing each other but it's a lot more complex then that. There's strategy in every shift of balance, ever turn of the foot. If you're not watching closely, you're missing everything.

Chouji's getting better but his dad is still the best. And two minutes later, Chouji got pushed out of the ring, stumbling back before catching his balance. Chouza laughed and hit his son strongly on the back. Chouji looked ready to go another round but his father pointed over to me. I gave a small wave and Chouji came over.

"Hey, Ino," he said, trying to catch his breath. "Did you need something?"

I smiled. "Dinner."

He perked up slightly. "Guess Shikamaru already left on his mission then."

"Lazy idiot made it sound like death itself was meeting him," I frowned.

Chouji smiled. "Two weeks of travel is pretty much death to Shikamaru."

I laughed and took his arm as we wandered towards the center of town. I let him pick the restaurant, knowing he already had someplace in mind. Korean barbecue it was and I didn't mind. I was finished eating before Chouji had started on his third course. We traded stories about Shikamaru's laziness and our various misadventures over the years.

"This is why I like eating with you," I managed between giggles.

"Because I'll pay?" he asked.

"No. It's because we're friends. And it's fun to share stories with friends."

"I see," Chouji replied, taking a few bites. "You had a fight with your girl friends, didn't you?"

I frowned. "No. They just don't like me any more."

"For no reason?"

I flustered. "Of course. I didn't do anything."

"Except meddle."

I looked over at him innocently eating his food. "I don't... meddle. I help."

He nodded. "Like you tried to help with my hair when we were fourteen."

"That was not my fault! They packaged the dye wrong. Like I knew it would turn your hair purple instead of black." I looked away and crossed my legs, tapping the one in the air. "I don't meddle."

"No," Chouji replied. "But your help can be a bit... um... overwhelming sometimes."

I pouted at him, trying to win him over to my side. "Do you really think so?"

He was impervious to my attempts by now. "Yes. You try to help but you want everything to work right away. You need to be patient."

"I can be patient... it's just... they're all so impossible. They never listen to me even though I'm right and now they're talking about me behind my back and saying mean things and..."

"Ino," Chouji interrupted. "How do you know they were saying things about you?"

"I..." I trailed off.

"You eavesdropped on them, probably heard a few things they said and made your own conclusions." I looked away from him. "Did you try asking them directly?"

Well no, obviously not. Why would I? I don't care what they think about me. I just wanted a friend to listen to me whine about it, possibly have a shoulder to cry on. But Chouji never played the pity game with me. He actually tried to help most of the time.

"You should talk to them," he said, finishing his last plate. "It's stupid to lose friendship based on rumors." He left enough money on the table to cover us both and left me to stew alone. I hated that he was right, that he didn't just bend to my will like other people and let me have my way. By the time I left the restaurant myself I knew I was going to actually follow his advice.

It was hard to schedule a group talk though. Sakura came with a mission and we were off, heading to Rain Country for a recon mission. It was a favor to Suna who had reported activity on the border but had few shinobi to send. I'm not a fan of Rain because of... well, the rain. Three days into the mission and I was pretty sure that even my bones were drenched.

"Anything, Hinata?" Sakura asked, pulling the poncho down to cover her face. I would have said something about the size of her forehead causing problems but I was sulking. It wasn't lost on the other girls but it was their own fault. Let them fester in my bad mood too.

Hinata frowned and didn't answer right away. Everyone's attention turned to her, the veins on the side of her eyes seeming to strain under her efforts. "The rain," she whispered. "It's not... right."

I tried to see what she was talking about but all I saw was rain. I looked over at Sakura and she shook her head. She didn't see anything either.

"Move!" Tenten suddenly yelled, unsheathing her katana with one hand and pushing Hinata to the side with the other. There was a distinct clang and the senbon ricocheted off her blade into a tree trunk.

We scattered, even though I didn't know what we were running from. But as I moved I suddenly saw what Hinata was talking about. The rain shimmered and was falling awkwardly. A genjutsu!

"Ino!" I heard Sakura's voice cut through the air. "DISPEL!"

I put my hands together and completed the genjutsu the same time she did. The rain shimmered once more and the illusion faded. There were six of them, obviously jounin and sporting the hitae of Hidden Rain. We were definitely outnumbered but I forced myself not to panic. One of them started towards me but he was too slow.

"Shinranshin no Jutsu!"

The man faltered once and then turned on his heel, pulling out a kunai and attacking the guy next to him. So long as I maintained the hand seal he was my puppet.

"Ino, duck!"

I let my knees buckle, not moving my hands at all. I never saw the attacker, I didn't bother to look for him. I just saw four kunai pass over my head, followed by a flash of pink. There was a loud crash, followed by the sound of trees falling. I glanced quickly to my left and saw Sakura returning to a fighting stance after the punch. The enemy nin... well, there were cut-outs of him through at least three trees.

My puppet got knocked out by his opponent and I toppled back, feeling the force of the release hit me. By the time I straightened out the enemy nin was on me. I crossed my forearms and blocked high, catching his arm at the wrist before the kunai could reach me. I turned my arms to the left, trapping his arm between my hands and forcing him to bend. As soon as the kunai was clear of me I struck out with my knee, landing a solid blow in his ribs.

He buckled and I brought my leg back, using instead the leverage I had on his arm to force him to the ground. As soon as he was there, I brought the same leg up again, higher and straight, and slammed it down, landing my heel right into his back. He grunted a curse and I let go, back flipping a few times backwards.

"Sakura! Catch me!" I called out, finishing up the hand seals. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

I let go just as I felt Sakura's arms around my waist. There was a rush, a bit of disorientation and then I was looking over at her holding my body. By the time I was settled, I could hear information pouring through the earpiece as the other Rain nin started to react. "Ten more are en route!" I called out, the masculine voice surprising me for a moment.

Sakura nodded once and then her eyes went wide. "Ino! Release!"

I didn't look, just followed what she said and released the jutsu just as I felt something pulling on my back. I opened my eyes back in my own body and saw two of the Rain nin caught up in a whirlwind of blue. Hinata finished spinning and wobbled once as she tried to get her balance. A nin broke through the dense foliage and headed straight towards her.

Two weighted chains appeared from just outside the crater of Kaiten and wrapped themselves around his body. He was jerked back towards the thrower, fighting against the entanglement. He managed to get one arm free by the time Tenten reached him, wooden bo cracking against his skull. A second came at her but she bobbed underneath his high strike, passing the bo from one side to the other behind her back and then hitting him behind the knees. His feet came from under him and he landed on his back, air rushing from his lungs. She twirled the bo once and then brought it down, butt of the staff right in his chest.

"That's six!" I called to them. "Ten more are coming!"

"Regroup!" Sakura yelled.

We started to move back to Hinata and Tenten. "Watch your step!" Hinata cried. But it was too late. The trap triggered and we were thrown into the air. The net hit a tree trunk and the force caused the false ground below us to collapse into a pit of spikes. I cursed, most of it learned from my dad, none of it very ladylike.

Tenten and Hinata had reached us and were trying to determine the best way to get us down. Hinata's Byakugan was still active so she saw them first. Sakura looked for them in the distance. I could see the hesitation in her actions. I could see Tenten hesitate too, looking at Hinata and then us. She and Sakura exchanged a glance and Tenten shook her head. There was no way she and Hinata could stop ten nin by themselves.

"Run for it," Sakura ordered. Hinata started to protest, but Tenten grabbed her with one arm and used her other hand to pull out a scroll. She dropped it on the ground, letting it unfurl as they ran. The ink shimmered once and four birds emerged from the paper, shooting skyward in each cardinal direction. Messenger birds with distress beacons. I could only hope that they found someone in time.

Five went after Hinata and Tenten while they other five came to examine us. I pulled a kunai from my pouch and heard Sakura do the same. We didn't have room to breathe, let alone fight. But there was no way these jerks were getting anywhere near us.

"My, my," one of them said. "What pretty birdies we've..."

His words were cut off by the sound of a massive explosion. He put his hand to his ear piece and nodded to the others. They took off after Hinata and Tenten as well.

We waited, listening for any sounds of battle. But the hours wore on and day started to become night. No one came back to us, neither friend nor foe. I was ticked at first, mostly because we fell for such an easy trap. But then I started to worry. What if something had happened to Tenten or Hinata? What if they were never coming back? And I never got to ask them why they were talking about me? Or talk about anything at all. That's when I started to cry, because it was my fault.

"Ino," Sakura begged. "We don't hate you, I promise you."

"I heard you talking about me," I sniffled, wiping my eyes with my sleeve.

"What? When?"

"Everyone was over at your house and..."

"Oh, oh," Sakura said softly. "Ino... it's not at all what you think. You see... um... I was upset with you for that stupid ad. And I lost my temper a bit but... well, we were talking about it and I guess..."

"We know you are just trying to help."

I twisted and Sakura yelped, hanging onto me as the net twisted in the air. "Hinata!" I called happily, looking down at her. "You're okay!" Hinata nodded once with a smile. "Where's Tenten?"

"Hobbling behind her," came the familiar voice. She came into view, leaning against a black clad ninja. He had a hood on, with two cat like ears at the top. A few steps behind them a tall blond followed sporting four perfectly symmetric pig tails and carrying a large fan.

"Kankuro! Temari!" Sakura cried happily. "Oh, I can not tell you how good it is to see you two!"

Temari looked up at them and shook her head. "Honestly. You Konoha nin always get yourselves in the worst situations."

"Yeah, lucky we saw your birdie on the way back home," Kankuro called up.

"I had them," Tenten snapped.

"Sure you did, gimpy," he replied. "Was that before or after you were swinging at them from the ground."

"Just hold still!" Temari interrupted, opening up her fan.

"Wait! Temari, don't..."

Sakura's voice was lost as Temari swung the fan. The air hit the net and pushed us away from the pit, straining the top rope until it broke. We fell to the ground and I got trapped under Sakura.

"Off," I ordered.

"I'm stuck," Sakura retorted.

"Stop feeling me up!" I yelled as she struggled to get free.

"I'm not feeling you up!"

"Then get your hand off my ass!"

"I can't! It's so damn big it's everywhere!"

"What did you just say to me, forehead?!?"

"Shouldn't you... help them?" Hinata squeaked.

"No, I'm good," Kankuro smiled, watching us struggle in the net. "Just wishing I had a video camera."

"AH! I'm going to kill you when I get out there!"

I don't really know which one of us said that. I think it was both. Needless to say, we both went after Kankuro the second we were free. He pushed himself behind Tenten who hopped around helplessly on one leg.

"OW!" Tenten cried. "Dammit! Stop fidgeting and help me stand!"

"Yeah, be a gentlemen and stand still," I snapped, cracking my knuckles.

"A gentlemen?" Temari snorted. "You're barking up the wrong tree."

"You wound me, dear sister," Kankuro said. He wrapped an arm around Tenten and hoisted her over his shoulder, keeping her off the ground so he could defend himself against us.

Eventually reason won out, though I think the fact that Tenten had aimed a kunai at a vital part of his anatomy certainly sped things along. Sakura examined her foot and frowned.

"It's definitely broken," she said.

"We'll go back to Suna," Temari stated. "There are probably more reinforcements on the way."

No one debated getting out of here. In fact the only debate was between Kankuro and Tenten over the method of carrying her back to the village. He believed over the shoulder was just fine. She believed he'd end up getting stabbed in the back repeatedly if he tried. In the end she opted for a piggy back, trying not to look too indignant.

We got the rest of the details of the fight after that. Tenten had laid enough traps as they retreated to slow down the rest of the nin and distract them from us. But they got surrounded quickly after that and Hinata had gone through several more Kaiten before she was out of chakra. Tenten had done her best to fend them off while protecting her weakened partner. She had miscalculated on a kick, not realizing the man she was attacking had strengthened his forearms with a chakra shield.

"Shattered the foot on impact," Tenten noted grimly.

"Then we showed up," Kankuro continued. "Last second heroes again."

"Please, Hinata and I had taken most of them out by then."

"Ano... she is right," Hinata said firmly. I looked ahead and saw the gates of Sunagakure appear on the horizon.

"Che," Temari scoffed. "You may not have left a lot but it was enough to need our help."

Tenten frowned looking over at her. "Fine. Then... then I challenge you to a race!"

"What?" Temari asked. "Are you serious?"

"First one to Suna wins."

"You're insane!"

"Kankuro," she said. He quirked his head back. She whispered something in his ear. He smiled and took off running.

"Hey!" Temari called. "I'm not playing this game! HEY!" She watched them for a second longer before muttering something under her breath and taking off.

I looked confused at Hinata and Sakura. They laughed. "Eternal rivals," Sakura smiled at me.

We got to the gate ten minutes after the sand siblings and Tenten. From the celebration there, Tenten had obviously won though, Temari was trying to argue it wasn't fair since technically Kankuro had won and not her. Before a fight broke out, Sakura pulled Kankuro by the arm, dragging him and Tenten towards the hospital.

"We don't hate you," Hinata reaffirmed, holding on to my hand. I smiled and nodded. I didn't need the full explanation. This was enough.

The hospital got crowded quickly. Apparently, one of the messenger birds had reached Shikamaru's group. They had doubled back and tried to help but we were gone by then. He had, of course, surmised what happened and decided to swing by Suna to check on us.

"Troublesome," he muttered to me. "You should have been more careful."

I smirked at him. "Careful yourself. You almost sound like you care." He frowned.

"Ne, ne, tell us about the fight again!" Naruto cried, jumping next to the bed where Tenten was lying down.

Sakura curled up a fist. "STOP INTERRUPTING!" she yelled, pummeling him on the head once before returning to work on the broken bone.

"Na-naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, kneeling next to the boy as he lay unconscious and mumbling on the ground.

"He'll be fine," Kiba sighed. "His head is pretty thick."

In fact a second later Naruto blinked and looked up at Hinata with a goofy smile. She turned five shades of red and backpedaled, knocking a few of the medical supplies down as she did.

"You didn't have to come to Suna," I continued.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Didn't have a choice. The rest of the team insisted."

"The rest of the team?" I joked.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I just didn't want to have to explain to Chouji why we'd have to break in a new kunoichi." I flustered and almost hit him. But he had a slight smile on his face.

"You're a jerk," I replied, turning on my heel and walking out the door. After all, Naruto had recovered enough to start bouncing again and I could see Sakura was about to unleash her fury on him.

I found the last member of Shikamaru's team, which appeared to be doubling as a reunion for the retrieval team, returning with a tray of medical supplies. "Hey Hyuuga," I smiled.

Neji eyed me a bit suspiciously. "Yamanaka," he replied. He came to a stop when I did.

"Worried about your cousin?" I asked.

"She can handle herself."

I didn't buy it, watching as he looked over my shoulder to the room. "Shikamaru said you all insisted on..."

I paused. My head whipped back to him, but he was looking at me. "Wait a minute... you weren't looking at Hinata..." He looked at me evenly. I stepped in front of him and stood on my toes to match his height. I lined up my eyes where his eyes would be and let out a squeak.

It made sense. It suddenly all made sense! Why my carefully constructed attempts and ingenious plans had all failed. All this time, I had just assumed that he was the one thwarting them.

"AH!" I cried, pointing at him. "AH! AH HA! I GET IT!"

"Get what?" he replied, voice low and trying not to draw any more attention to us.

I kept my finger level at his chest. "You're not the problem at all. The stubborn idiot is her!"

"Yamanaka..."

"Oh my God," I said, feeling almost faint. "You're human. You actually... do get attracted to women." He flustered. "Well, woman in this case. I mean... after the chuunin exam I just assumed..."

I looked up at him with a smile and patted his arm. "Don't worry, Hyuuga! Ino Yamanaka is on the case. I'll help Tenten get over whatever hang-ups she has and you two can live happily ever after."

I turned and headed back towards the room. Tenten looked over at me with a quirked eyebrows. I guess I was beaming. I mean, I had a real plan now. I was going to bring those two together, and then nothing would stand in the way of Hinata and Naruto. I was going to be the biggest hero, the savior of all forlorn-ed lovers. I was...

GOING TO KILL HIM.

Kankuro had sashayed into the room and handed the main component of my plan a small bouquet of flowers. He was going to ruin everything!

"HEY!" I yelled. "HANDS OFF THE GIRL, PUPPET BOY."


	7. Temari: Totally Insane

**Temari - Totally Insane**

I will never understand Konoha nin. You kick them around, they want to be your friends afterward. You try to destroy your village – albeit under false pretenses – and they don't hesitate to forgive you. You try to kill them, they try to save you.

It had to be something in the water. No sane people would ever act like this on their own. And whatever had infected them had slowly been infecting Sunagakure as well. Before, people here were content to glower at you and leave you be. But now...

"Good morning, Temari-san! I just finished baking some sweet rolls, would you like to try one?" the baker asked happily.

Now, this place was starting to feel more and more like Konoha everyday. I took the roll, just to be polite, and walked away and into a cacophony of morning greetings. The market had grown again and I noted that the stalls were edging past the boundaries we had approved only three months ago. Suna was not just happier, it was more prosperous. And they have my brother to thank.

"Yo! Tem! Hold up!"

No, not that one. That one is an idiot.

I turned on my heel and watched Kankuro jog over to me. He had a few things in his hands. "What do you want?" I asked.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine," he replied. "No reason to be nasty, just wanted to say hi to the most wonderful sister in the world."

"Only sister," I corrected him. "And how much?"

He feigned being hurt, but only for a second. "Just a few ryo..."

I glanced at the collection of things in his hands. A rather nice looking hair piece, a silk shawl, and some other trinkets. I sighed. "You have a death wish," I told him, patting my pockets for my purse.

"Aw, that's not true. I just wanted to make our Konoha guests feel welcome."

"While pissing off at least one of them," I finished for him, opening the purse to see how much I had. "And I'm not scraping you off the walls when they finally catch up with you."

He smiled a big toothy grin. "All in good fun, Tem," he replied.

"You are sadistic idiot."

"And that's why you love me."

I should have seen it coming. I've known him since the beginning and I should have known that he wasn't actually coming in for a hug. But by the time I had mustered my perfect 'touch me and die' face for him, he had darted in, snatched my purse and then taken a huge bite out of my sweet roll.

"Thanks, sis! I owe you!" he called, running back into the market.

Forget the Konoha nin, I was going to get to him before they could.

"Temari-sama."

I sighed in defeat, not just for losing the chance to beat on my brother but for having to deal with this again. "I've said it a million times, I'm not Kazekage, I don't need that honorific."

"Of course not, Temari-sama," the nin said with a bow. "The Kazekage wants to see you when you are free."

"Fine, I'm on my way." The nin disappeared in a swirl of sand and I turned to head in that direction only to find my way blocked.

"I'm here to challenge you to..." Tenten started.

"Can't."

Her look of triumph turned into a pout. "But it was a really good one too," she complained.

"Later then. I have to go talk to the Kazekage."

"I'll walk with you," she replied, falling into step next to me as I began to walk.

I looked over at her, noting how easily she returned the greetings of the shopkeepers who waved at us. The smile that never ceased, the happy twinkle in her eye despite the fact that it was already ninety degrees in the shade... yes, it was definitely insanity that the Konoha nin had fallen victim to. That and...

"You know he's an idiot," I said. She blinked and looked over at me with confusion. "My brother. He's an idiot, impossible to deal with most of the time, a slob who can't even pick up a dish let alone his laundry."

She laughed. "Yeah, I know. I do listen when you complain about him," she said.

I was confused. While I didn't think Tenten was the type to lead a guy on, this was my brother we're talking about. And no matter how much he annoys me, if anyone tried to hurt him I'd break them in two. "So what's the deal then? Why are you leading him on?"

She shook her head. "I'm not leading him on, he's in on it." That did little to clear up the situation so I made sure she understood that based on my expression. "You remember the race back to Suna?" she asked.

"The one you lost because you cheated," I answered

She rolled her eyes but continued none the less. "The reason I won was because I promised him a date with Ino if we got to the gate first."

I was silent for a bit while I tried to process this. "So you're trying to make her jealous?"

"No, something much worse. I'm screwing with her 'plan'." She smiled, a bit of evil in the look. "So eventually, she'll come to the conclusion that the only solution is to let him take her out instead."

Certifiable, I decided. "I don't understand but it sounds very devious," I replied.

"Oh, it is."

"And you're a good actress," I continued. "I mean, if I bought it, everyone else did too."

She frowned a bit. "Well, it's not like I ever got flowers before."

Ah, certifiable with a bit of bitterness thrown in. The Kazekage Tower was approaching so I had to say goodbye with a promise to meet later for whatever challenge she had concocted this time. The guard there let me in wordlessly and I had to restrain myself when he called me Temari-sama once more.

I found Gaara in the same place I always do, sitting on a chair that's still too big for him and surrounded by mountains of paperwork. He was reading a document and I waited for him to finish. "Hello, Temari," he said evenly.

"Hi, Gaara," I smiled. He didn't return it, but emotions are still hard for him to show. He instead regarded me with a flat look and started to look for something on his desk.

"Have you spoken to any of our guests today?" he asked, still searching.

"Just Tenten-san," I replied.

"There are no complaints?" I shook my head. "Good."

This only makes me smile more because I know Gaara has been trying very hard to make sure our Konoha guests feel comfortable here. It's partly because as a Kage he knows the importance of putting a good face forward for foreign guests. But I think, too, when Naruto and his friends are around, Gaara is a bit happier, even relaxed. So he asks about their condition but doesn't know that most of us are working extra hard to make sure they never have a reason to leave on bad terms.

"The half that went on the delivery mission are late," he continued, pulling out a scroll and handing it over to me. "I would not worry but reconnaissance has tracked movement from some of the bandit tribes to the south."

I frowned a bit. A few bandits wouldn't be a problem for shinobi but if a few tribes got together... well then there could be problems. "I'll take a team out to investigate."

"Sakura-san would be a good addition, as well as Hinata-san."

I thought about it for a second and realized he's right. Hinata would be able to track them down quickly. And if things went poorly, having Sakura around would increase survivability. "I'll let them know."

"And I will ask Kankuro to make sure the remaining two are taken care of."

I bit my tongue a bit and tried not to laugh. If he only knew how well our brother was taking care of those two. Still, I managed to maintain my composure and left the office soon after that, barking a few orders to get some of our best shinobi at the gates while I tracked down the girls.

I found Hinata and Sakura with Ino at a small restaurant near their hotel. Just as I was within earshot, Ino stood up and threw her hands in the air, storming off. I'm not sure who looked more confused when I finally get there. Them or me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Ino-san... um..." Hinata tried, but her look said it all. She didn't understand anymore then I did.

"She's going to ask out your brother," Sakura said. "I don't really understand why but apparently it's all our fault for not helping her with her secret plan that she can't tell us about."

"Ah," I stated. "So things are going exactly as planned."

Now they were definitely more confused than I was. I smiled to myself and then quickly explained why I was there. Before I was even halfway through, Sakura stood up with a defeated sigh. "Naruto probably jumped in thinking it would be an easy fight. I'll go get a medical kit and meet you at the gate."

I walked with Hinata, who was fiddling nervously next to me. I thought about saying something comforting, seeing as her cousin and teammate were both possibly in danger. The urge to do so was stronger when I realized she was mumbling to herself. But just before I could, she turned to me and with a serious look asked, "Do you have spare scarf?"

That was not at all what I was expecting but I pulled a purple one off my fan and handed it to her. She promptly wrapped it over her face and nodded with satisfaction. "Perfect," she said.

Yes, just perfect. Here I was, sister to the Kazekage, walking down the main thoroughfare of the village with a girl who had just covered her entire face in a scarf. These Konoha nin... well I think we've established they're crazy. We got a number of odd stares and I was going to ask her exactly what she was doing when the wind picked up suddenly. I squinted my eyes instinctively and then understood. The wind here was laced with sand and for a kunoichi who relied on her eyes...

So maybe they weren't all crazy. Sakura showed up a second later looking like she had folded up an entire hospital room and put it on her back. "Let's move out!" she said firmly.

"Do you need... help?" one of the Suna nin asked.

"She's got it," I replied quickly, knowing full well the extent of Sakura's physical strength as well as her short temper. I didn't want her to think anyone questioned her skills here.

The three nin with us looked at her, then at Hinata and then at me. I didn't really like that look, the strange arch of the eyebrows mixed in with confusion. But before I could say anything, Sakura started walking out the gates with Hinata behind her. We made good time, mainly because Hinata could pick up the tiniest disturbance in the sand from so far away.

It looked like Sakura was right. After a while we started to come across the unconscious bodies of bandits. "Those are definitely Naruto's sandals," Sakura frowned, pointing to about five dozen imprints on the ground. "And he's using clones which means he's probably already out of chakra." She put her hands on her hips. "The idiot."

"Actually, he seems to be doing quite well," Hinata noted, looking off into the south. I squinted and tried to make out details but could only see what appeared to be a small sand storm. "They have narrowed the enemies down to about three dozen men."

"Just enough to still have a bit of fun," I stated, pulling the fan off my back. A few hand signals to my sand nin and they sank into the sand, disappearing from view. Sakura dropped the pack in the sand and cracked a shoulder while Hinata adjusted the scarf.

Sand dunes are a lot of fun on the way down. The three of us didn't have to do much more then push some chakra into our feet and surf down the slope. Running up was a bit harder and with the fight going on nearly a quarter mile away, it was a lot of work. We reached the peak of one dune and Sakura stopped us, holding up a hand as she caught her breath.

"It's taking too long," she stated. "Temari, think you can use your fan to just toss us that way?" Without chakra sickles embedded in it, the wind from my fan would be more then enough force to get her there. I nodded firmly. "Me first, then wait about ten seconds and send over Hinata."

I did just like she asked, watching as Sakura headed there first. When she landed, it was like the entire desert reached up and tried to swallow them all. By the time I sent Hinata after her, I could see the crater from Sakura's impact. I rode my fan the rest of the way, landing just a few feet away from the edge of the battle.

Konoha nin, for all their insanity, are some of the best fighters I've known. Sakura had probably taken out at least four men just on the landing alone. She was making sure any that came within in her range met the wrong end of her fist. Hinata had gotten close to her cousin and the two Hyuuga were quickly reduced to blue and white blurs as they danced around their opponents, rendering them unconscious in a matter of minutes. I couldn't tell Kiba and his dog apart anymore, they both moved with the savageness of an animal but attacked with the intelligence of a human.

I had to duck as two bandits came spiraling at me, not doubt the result of Naruto's Rasengan attack. The blond looked up at me and smiled broadly. "Hey, Temari! Come to join the fun?"

I was about to reply but I suddenly ducked, most definitely not of my own volition. When I could right myself again, I glared over at the final member of their team. Shikamaru just pointed to the sword that had just missed me. I frowned and put my hands on my hips. I had seen it coming.

The fight was over before I broke a sweat. My sand nin had done as ordered and sought out the leaders, rising up from the sand and rendering them unconscious. Once the leaders were knocked out, the remaining bandits folded quickly, some running off, others just surrendering on the spot. Suna nin are not cruel, we don't kill people who have given up. So I had to call for more backup to help with transporting them back to jail.

"And exactly how was taking on nearly a hundred men a good idea?" Sakura screamed.

"They were just normal bandits," Naruto pouted. "It's not like we couldn't have handled... OW! LET GO OF MY EAR!"

She marched him all the way back to where her pack was and even that far away we could hear her yelling. No one was really that injured, just a scratch here or there.

"Not normal bandits," Shikamaru stated, taking a seat next to me to wait. "There were a lot of them."

I followed suit and knelt down in the sand. "You knew this was coming?"

He shrugged. "I heard some rumors, figured it was better safe then sorry."

I nodded. "I should have seen it too," I added, somewhat annoyed. "They've been getting more restless."

"It's because Sunagakure is doing too well," he sighed, lying back and looking up at the sky. "The more prosperous you become, the more the people who aren't there are going to want to take it from you."

"I suppose so." I paused, looking up at the cloudless sky. "What exactly were you transporting anyway?"

He put a finger to his lips and that was all I was going to get out of him today. Whatever it was, it was a secret to Konoha. Asking about it – well, asking about anything at this point, was going to yield no answer. Having dealt with him on several occasions, I knew that when Shikamaru started staring at the sky, you might as well be talking to a brick wall.

We got back just as the sky turned black. The temperature had taken a dramatic turn downward and when Naruto complained that he was cold, Sakura didn't even bother to chastise him for whining.

"I'm starving," Naruto complained the second we had found refuge under some patio heaters. Sakura rolled her eyes and was about to retort when her stomach grumbled. She turned pink at the noise.

"There are a few restaurants still open," I said.

"Che, just give us a convenience store," Shikamaru yawned.

"No," I replied firmly. "You're Sunagakure's guests and you will eat well while you're here. No freeze-dried ramen."

Naruto looked ready to say something but Shikamaru waved me off. "We don't need fancy food."

"I know you don't," I snapped back. "Because every time we have to go for dinner in Konoha, we go to the same fast food place. But the rest of your team might actually have wanted something that doesn't taste like cardboard."

"Why are you being so troublesome? You never complained."

"I assumed you would eventually get the hint."

"Why do women always assume things? I'm not Ino, I can't read your mind." He didn't looked annoyed, just bored. The rest of the Konoha nin had started to congregate under a heater a few feet away from us.

"So when I said 'Let's try someplace else next time', that wasn't enough of a hint?"

"We went someplace else."

"It was the same chain just in another place!" I yelled, getting frustrated. Forget when he's staring at the sky. Talking to him was always like talking to a wall!

He sighed. "Then what exactly would you want?"

"Dinner at restaurant, one that doesn't serve your food on a tray." I crossed my arms. "And flowers." Because damnit, I had never gotten them either.

He looked at me and chuckled a bit. "You're out of your mind."

I started to say something and realized he was right. That's what my sand nin had been thinking before we left. I was insane. Konohagakure and it's nin had finally gotten to me. I was had joined their ranks as one of the crazy, the psychotic, the type that would accept stupid challenges from a girl who should hate me. The type that would actually ask for, no, demand, a decent dinner from the idiot that I was not ready to admit I might like beyond just a friend. The type that would care about their welfare not just for my brother's sake but for my own.

He had a look on his face that he usually got just before winning a Shogi game. I started to think of a smart reply but at the moment there was an explosion followed by an all too familiar scream.

I sighed. "Just go ahead without me," I said, pointing to a restaurant down the road. "I've got to go scrape my brother off a wall."


	8. Hinata: Himitsu

**Author's note: I can't believe people are still reviewing this and... still waiting for updates. You guys have more faith in me then I do. I hope this lives up to people's long awaited expectations.**

* * *

"My advisers inform me a marriage to you would be beneficial to us both."

It would not be the first time I've heard these words. As the eldest daughter of a prominent clan, my family has fielded these types of requests since before I was born. As I grew, it fell to me to deliver the appropriate response to them, something I have done on occasion, and usually with enough grace so as to not embarrass either party. This situation, however, proved a bit more difficult.

After all, I suppose it's not every day that a Kage asks you if you want to be his wife.

The day didn't start out so exciting. We were slowly wearing out our welcome at Suna which is understandable. Kankuro was still in the hospital, recovering from what had been officially dubbed "Righteous Retribution". 'Officially' meaning that Ino-san had made it clear that that is what we should call it because it was the only course of action she could take after he stole her first kiss.

In an attempt to prevent further violence, Tenten-san had mentioned that there was a hermit somewhere in the desert who could apparently cure any ailment, including restoring the virtue of a maiden. I think she may have made that last part up but it was enough to convince Ino-san to make it a personal mission to find him; and so the two had set out in the morning.

Sakura-san had taken to staying in the hospital in attempt to make up for the amount of time the Suna medic-nin were spending healing the Konoha-nin (as well as any Suna-nin who got in their way). I helped when I could, but as Naruto-kun was a frequent visitor to the hospital, Sakura-san was forced to ask me to leave. It wasn't as if I wanted to mummify those patients. I just... get distracted when Naruto-kun is close.

Kiba-kun and Shikamaru-san had disappeared. The latter was probably off with Temari-san, the former most likely hiding from Sakura-san's wrath at putting Naruto-kun back in the hospital. So only Neji-niisan and I were left, walking through the market awkwardly.

Well, at least I was awkward. Neji-niisan simply took the situation in stride and seemed perfectly unaffected at the prospect of spending the day with me.

"Ano... what about this one?" I asked, holding up a bit of fabric for him to see.

He ran his hand against it and nodded once. "It should please Hanabi-sama greatly."

Several years ago, this would have been impossible, you know. He would have glowered and brooded and generally hated the entire situation while saying those same exact words. But now, I can hear in the slight inflection of his voice that he actually means those words.

"Is there anything else you want to purchase?" I asked, bringing the silk to the saleswoman.

He looked at me blankly. "Is it not enough for Hanabi-sama?"

"Not for Hanabi-sama," I replied. "Perhaps for someone else?"

He looked at the bags in his hands and I could already see what he was thinking. "I thought we had purchased something for everyone."

He started to rummage for the list of names but I quickly stopped him. "No, someone not in the family."

We looked at each other for a moment, blank eyes not moving as we waited for the other to speak first. Subtle bits of conversation were usually more then any Hyuuga would need to relay necessary information. But not in this case.

It should be known that Neji-niisan's feelings for his female teammate are perhaps the worse kept secret in Hyuuga history. At first, it was out of politeness that we didn't intrude on whatever he was planning. After all, Neji-niisan is well... you see he...

He has enough pride to fill Konoha and then some. So no one wanted to offer assistance in 'getting the girl' because he would probably think we were insulting his ability to do so. And more so, his attempts to keep it a secret meant that if we said something, he would most likely take it as a failure of his ability to be secretive.

Either way, he would revert to his former sullen self and the Hyuuga compound would once again fall under the perpetual black raincloud known amongst my family as the Neji-gloom. Having lived through many years of it, no one was anticipating its return.

And so, subtly, we attempted to push things along. Hanabi-sama demanded to be trained by the weapon mistress at least three times a week, conveniently around dinner time. If one of the weapons in the compound was broken, Tenten-san was who we called over first to look at it.

And of course, the most obvious action, well, to anyone but Neji-niisan, was the fact that I had been regularly going on missions with Sakura-san and the others. The honor of protecting the heiress was only to fall to family members or, in this case, expected future members.

Recently the more mischievous of the compound's inhabitants had tried to make the family's position more obvious but Father quickly brought them into line. So, I realized as he's staring at me waiting for an answer, Neji-niisan was most likely worrying again that his 'cover' has been blown and I should act quickly.

"Lee-san," I said with a small smile.

The relief would not be evident to anyone but another Hyuuga. "Of course," he said. "And sensei as well. Otherwise they'll both be impossible to deal with."

The second worst kept secret in Hyuuga history? That Neji-niisan actually enjoys the company of the Dynamic Green Duo quite a bit.

"Hinata-chan!"

I froze in place and tried not to look over at the familiar voice. Sure, there were no unwilling patients around at the moment but if I lost myself in the joy that comes from hearing his voice, then I was liable to do something silly again.

"Are you... interested in those?" the saleswoman asked me pleasantly.

I glanced down and found I had managed to grab a handful of silken boxers. I dropped them quickly and shook my head as I backed away, only to run right into Neji-niisan. At least he had the good grace to not falter even a bit when I did.

"Are you shopping too?" Naruto-kun asked. I realized now that Kankuro-san was with him, still looking very damaged but standing at least.

"Ano.. we... Hanabi..." I faltered and forgot how to speak. Again.

"Hanabi-sama wanted some fabric for a kimono," Neji-niisan said, preventing any further embarrassment on my part.

"Neat! Let me see!" he dove for the bag but Neji-niisan deftly lifted it away, eying his sticky fingers with a frown. Naruto-kun looked down at them sheepishly. "Sorry, we got sweet rolls and they're soooo good, you can't eat just one! Hinata-chan, try one!"

I started to protest but he had already taken one, torn off a bit and popped it in my mouth before I could even formulate what I wanted to say.

He was right, they were delicious. Almost as good as the realization that Naruto-kun was so close that he actually touched my lips. In fact, if I close my eyes I can almost imagine that it wasn't his fingers but...

"Ma'am... really, you don't need to do that."

I followed her gaze and found a neatly folded pile of silk undergarments on the table. The saleswoman was looking at me sympathetically. I retreated once more and found that Neji-niisan had covered for my reaction by asking them what they were doing here.

"Buying something for the blonde," Kankuro-san said sullenly. "Don't know why, not like I did anything wrong."

"Because if you don't, Sakura-chan said she'd make sure you were stuck in the hospital for months," Naruto-kun cheerfully reminded him.

"Whatever," he said, though I could tell he was not looking forward to testing Sakura-san's wrath. "She's not around or anything. It's supposed to be a surprise or something."

I shook my head. "No, she went on a mission."

"What mission?" he asked.

"Not a real one," Naruto-kun chirped in. "She heard something about a hermit who could fix whatever you did to her."

Kankuro-san stared at him for a moment and then smiled. "Wait... wait... what was the guy's name?"

"Fujiyama," I replied.

Kankuro-san started to laugh, loudly enough that people in the market turned to look at him. "Perfect! The guy is the biggest lech in the country. He's probably asking her to strip as we speak."

I frowned. "That doesn't sound perfect at all."

Kankuro-san almost looked sheepish. Almost. "Sorry... but believe me, what I did will pale in comparison to whatever he thinks of."

"Hey... didn't Tenten go with her?" Naruto asked me.

As I nodded, all the joy faded from Kankuro-san's face. "Oh... hell. That sucks. He's probably having them make out right now and I'm not there."

There's a long pause as we all absorbed what was said. And then suddenly Neji-niisan cleared his throat and spoke.

"We need to find them before they find the hermit."

"Oh," Kankuro-san said with a sly smile. "Want to make sure you can see the action."

"No, I want to prevent the international incident that will result when those two kill him."

"I'll come!" Naruto-kun said.

"Fine, let's go. Hinata-sama, my apologies" Neji-niisan said, holding out the bags.

"Good luck," I replied as I took them from him. The two of them moved quickly onto the roofs of the village.

Kankuro-san looked at me with a smile. "So.... how you doing?" he asked, leaning in a bit.

There was a puff of smoke and Neji-niisan reappeared. "You're coming with us," he ordered, grabbing the other boy's shoulder and taking him along before he could protest.

Alone in the market, I made my way through the remaining stalls. There was one selling stuffed animals and I couldn't help myself. I bought the stuffed fox and placed him in the bags along with everything else.

By the time I finished with the market, the sky had started to go dark. My stomach reminded me, rather loudly, that it had been hours since I last had any food. I struggled to decide whether to drop off the packages first or just go directly to the restaurant. As I came to a decision, I suddenly noticed that no one was left in the streets.

I glanced around, trying to understand what happened. I even turned on Byakugan to scan for danger. But I realized quickly that there was no attack. Everyone had simply gone inside.

How strange. I wonder why they would do that?

As if to answer me, the entire village shook under the force of thunder. I stumbled a bit and stared up at the sky, realizing only now it was not just the sun setting that created the darkness. Storm clouds have gathered and in the distance I could see the curtain of rain.

It approached with a speed I was unprepared for. As the sandy ground ahead of me melted into a brown mush, I prepared to be drenched, only to find the rain did not fall anywhere near me. I glanced above and found a shield of sand acting like an umbrella.

"The rain here is sudden."

I watch as Gaara-san... sama... Kazekage-sama approached. He was as he always was, his face looking as if he had been carved from a block of stone. In the past, I would have trembled in fear of being so close to the sand that has killed so many before me. But he was Naruto-kun's friend and so I felt he must be a good person... even if he was a bit scary still.

"Thank you," I replied with a bow.

"It will be over soon," he continued, taking the bags from my hands as I thanked him again. We stood silently in the middle of the street, the rain battering against the makeshift roof above around heads.

The lightning was incredible to watch. It arched across the entire expanse of the sky and disappeared into the desert almost instantly. The thunder was loud enough to rattle the windows around us. The ground could not absorb the water fast enough and pools formed quickly in every depression in the road.

"My advisers inform me a marriage to you would beneficial to us both."

He said nothing after that for a while, which was good. A reply to this would not be as easy as others. A part of me understood exactly why his advisers informed him of this fact. That same part was also mindful of the great honor it would bring my family.

But politics and love rarely go hand in hand. And though I knew the chances that Naruto-kun would ever return my feelings were slim at best, it was something I wanted to hold onto for a little bit longer.

Before I could formulate a reply, he did it himself. "I fought him once and lost. Doing it a second time would be pointless."

I smiled a bit, knowing that I was blushing as I stood next to the most feared person in all of Suna. But he never said anything of it, just stayed there as the rain fell around us. And then as suddenly as it had started, it was over.

People started to emerge from their homes. The sand shield above me disappeared and I felt the dying rays of the sun start to warm my back again. Children ran into the street and splashed in the puddles.

I turned to take the bags back. "Thank..." But he was already gone.

It took a day for everyone to reappear. Kiba-kun had made amends to Sakura-san by bringing her a box of sweets at the hospital (something he had learned from regularly dealing the large number of irate women in his clan). Shikamaru-san would only mutter about restaurants and flowers when asked where he had been. The mission to the hermit had been a failure for the most part, though I suppose Neji-niisan would be happy that no one was hurt... especially the hermit.

I felt happy to have everyone back together. I missed Konoha and I was ready to go home. But after dinner, Sakura-san rounded us up for an all-girl meeting.

"We have a mission," she said. "Someone from Sound wants to defect and we're going to bring him in."


	9. Sakura: Scenes

KitC 9

It's not Sasuke-kun.

I should probably say that right from the get-go. Face it, if you hear someone's defecting from Sound then the hope is that it would be him. In fact, when I got the message from Tsunade-shishou, I assumed it would be him. I wanted it to be him. But I think even then, somewhere deep down, I knew it wasn't going to be him. Ever.

"Explain to me why we have to be here again?" Ino whined, twirling a long strand of blond hair. She had on a bored expression as she glanced at the stage. The curtain wasn't even up yet and she was complaining. I didn't want to think about how she would be three hours from now when the opera was still going on.

"We're doing a dry run for tomorrow," I whispered to her from my neighboring seat. "I want to get our timing down."

Ino sighed dramatically, crossing her legs so the fabric of her red dress pulled tightly against her. "Why opera? I mean, the traditional ones in Konoha are bad enough, but this modern version is torture!"

I shrugged. I didn't have an answer for that. All I knew was that the box Shikamaru had given me had a copy of the playbill for this show with a date and time written on the cover. Tsunade-shishou had explained they had been working on this possible convert for a while and he had finally agreed to jump ship. She wanted the operation to be low key, which is why we were sent. But she was also wary of anything that came from Sound, which is why there were three ANBU squads monitoring the situation from a close distance.

"Curtain up," crackled the voice in my ear.

I resisted to the urge to look up. I knew Tenten was up there, somewhere in the maze of catwalks, monitoring the stage from her perch. Instead, I picked at the gray fabric of my own dress and looked over at Ino to see if the situation had improved. It hadn't.

"Stop pouting," I whispered.

"I'm not pouting," she replied, lips turned downwards as her arms crossed against her chest.

"It'll give you wrinkles when you're older," I said sweetly.

"At least I don't have gray hairs now," she smiled.

I pulled at my hair, looking for any trace of gray until I heard Ino giggle next to me. I punched her in the arm. She pinched my side. The people around shushed us loudly and the opera began.

I wouldn't say it was painful, per say, despite the fact that Ino made multiple attempts to escape. It was just... well... long. One person was stabbed and they sang about it for a good ten minutes. Then they realized they were dying so that was another ten and let's not forget the twenty minutes of lamentation that everyone else sang once the stabbing victim was dead. The medic in me was severely irked by how easy it would have been to save the victim if they had sought medical attention rather then sitting around, caterwauling about their wound.

The intermission came and Ino was out of her seat before the rest of the row had moved. If I hadn't grabbed her arm I'm pretty sure she would have knocked everyone down to get out. I looked up at the balcony and saw Hinata slowly lowering the opera glasses. She barely glanced over at me before standing up.

We wandered out into the main concourse and Ino made a beeline for the bar. She ordered a glass of wine, flirting shamelessly with the bartender to get it nearly filled to the top. I gave her a reproachful look.

"It's not like this is the real thing," she complained, sipping the drink.

"It's supposed to be as close to it as the real thing," I snapped. "Why can't you take this seriously?"

"Because seriously, I doubt this guy is going to show up at all," she replied. "I think this is a trap."

I would have argued but part of me felt the same way. Hinata joined us with a small smile, opera glasses in her hand. "It's lovely isn't it?" she said. Ino and I stared at her and she pinked considerably. "Well, it's... um... not too bad?"

I sighed. "Hinata, you're allowed to like things we don't."

"Yeah, like Naruto," Ino muttered so only I could hear, taking down more wine as she did. I glared harshly at her and she sighed. "I didn't mean it or anything. I'm just... so BORED." I didn't feel at all inclined to try to fix that but Hinata, powered by my assurance that it was okay, quickly launched into a dissection of the opera so far. Her eyesight were apparently not the only sense that was perfect. She was picking out subtlety in the music I couldn't hope to understand.

The lights flickered as intermission came to an end. Ino chugged the rest of her drink and I had to pull her away before she tried for a second one. We made our way back to our seats. I tapped the mic in my necklace and Tenten replied with a yawn that she was still in place. Ino fidgeted as the score started up again and I tried to ignore her, concentrating on the music instead.

The second act was mostly like the first – long, drawn out conversations that could have been completed in a minute in the the real world. Ino fell asleep and I didn't see a reason to wake her. It was really just a dry run and I was getting tired of fighting.

The final scene began and I was relieved. On the stage, the murderer from the first act was preparing to flee. His wife was on her knees, begging him not to go. She was desperate, every word she sang with filled with despair. Her hands clung to his jacket and as he tried to walk away she was dragged along with him. She promised him anything he needed, volunteered to come with him, give up everything just for him. Finally he turned and held her close and told her that staying behind was for her own good.

He left. He just left her behind even after all that. I expected a long solo on how she felt followed by someone coming in to save her, to hold her hand and promise her it would be for the better. But she cried on the stage, alone, for a minute, each sob was gut wrenching. And then she stood up slowly, walked to the table and picked up a knife.

She plunged it at her heart. The curtain dropped. The lights came up. Applause erupted and Ino woke up with a start.

"What'd I miss?" she asked, adjusting her dress. She looked over at me. "Sakura... are you crying?"

At dinner that night, we reviewed the plans for the next day. Just before the opera ended, we'd have to meet the defector and bring him to the train station where we would make the trip back to Fire Country. We were familiar with all the exits, knew the layout of the opera house by heart and were ready to nail this mission. Tenten gathered up the papers so she could go brief the ANBU squads.

"Can I come?" Ino asked.

"Why?" Tenten replied, clearly suspicious.

"Because I want to help you," she smiled. Tenten raised an eyebrow. "And fine, ANBU uniforms are really hot."

Tenten shot Hinata a look before she shrugged, letting Ino trail behind her commenting on which of their friends would look best in an ANBU uniform. Hinata and I remained at table in silence for a while after they were gone. I couldn't look at her directly, the passing glances showed me she was concerned. Apparently Ino's question at the opera had been heard by everyone.

"I'm fine," I said finally.

"Well... it's okay not to be," Hinata replied.

"It's not Sasuke-kun."

"We know. But... I think you want it to be."

I looked at her and forced a smile. "I'll always want it to be." She reached out and took my hand. I glanced at it for a moment before giving it a reassuring squeeze. I was fine, I was going to be fine.

The next night was here before I knew it. Ino and I entered the opera and found our seats, settling in for another long night. She sparkled though, chatting with her neighbors over how excited she was to get the chance to see this opera. She was in perfect form, as always, when it counted.

"Curtain up."

I scanned the crowd in the dark, looking for someone who might be our defector. No one looked out of the ordinary to me but still... I focused on the row of seats near the right side of the stage. I gently nudged Ino and she followed my gaze. Her frown confirmed my suspicions.

When intermission came, we waited around the bar for Hinata, trying not to look anxious. She looked about the same when she finally arrived. I didn't even need to say anything. "Yes, it is definitely the same group from yesterday and they are most definitely shinobi."

"Maybe they're opera fans?" Ino asked wryly.

I shook my head. "Someone else was doing a dry run last night."

"It's a either trap," Tenten replied, her voice soft in our ears, "or else Sound was tipped off."

"What do we do?" Ino asked, looking at me.

"We have to go through with it. If they were tipped off, they're going to kill whoever was planning to defect. If it was a trap... well that's what the ANBU are here for, right?" We spent the rest of intermission attempting to look relaxed, all the while scanning the crowd for any other potential threats.

The second act seemed longer then last night but that was because all I could do was stare at the trio of men sitting silently. None of them looked familiar but that didn't mean they weren't as dangerous as some of the known Sound operatives. The final scene began on the stage and a man in the front left row stood up, leaving his jacket on the seat.

"It's him," Tenten said.

Ino played a perfect role as the suddenly sick friend. She excused herself politely and I guided her through the aisle with profuse apologies. Most of the people around us looked sympathetic. I could only hope it was enough to keep that group of Sound-nin's from getting too suspicious. I glanced up at Hinata's balcony and saw she was gone. It should have been all I needed but for some reason, I just felt drawn to the balcony next to hers.

He stood up, but even before he had emerged from the shadows I knew it was him. "Sasuke-kun," I whispered, feeling Ino twitch under my hold. He glanced down at us and I saw how he had changed once more. His eyes were darker, colder, and the aloofness from his youth had built up like a brick wall around him. He held me in his eyes and didn't look away. It was even worse than when Naruto and I had confronted him before.

The woman on the stage was crying, begging her husband not to go. And I... I turned away and quickly pulled Ino out of the theater. We had a mission. We had to succeed. I had to keep going.

"Report," I hissed into the microphone in my necklace.

"They're not moving," Tenten whispered.

It didn't feel like a success. Even when we entered the lobby and the defector was waiting there for us. Something was off, it just felt... wrong.

"On the ceiling," Hinata cried as she ran down the stairs towards us, Byakugan active as she looked to the large windows in the front of the Opera House.

"Down!" I managed to get out just before the glass shattered. The sonic blast knocked us all back and blew the doors to the opera stage wide open. People started streaming out and through the chaos I managed to make out the catwalks hanging low over the audience. I fought my way to standing. "Sparrow! Get him out of here!"

"With me, please," Hinata said, grabbing the defector and pulling him off the ground. They dove into the crowd and disappeared from sight. The Sound-nin from the roof rappelled in and landed in the middle of the lobby. The ocean of people parted around them and they locked their gaze on us. Not running away had obviously made us easy to pick out.

"Ready?" I asked Ino.

"Born."

Dresses for kunoichi are designed with one major factor in mind. Ninety-percent of the time you were going to be fighting in it. Ino and I hit our hips at the same time, calling out the dispel jutsu. The seams disappeared, letting the fabric split up to the mid-thigh. Right where our kunai holsters were.

There were four of them so it was easy for us to split the work. I went left, Ino went right and we flanked them with a barrage of kunai. The initial attack had forced them only a few inches back before they retaliated. Sound jutsus are a pain to deal with, ruptured eardrums would make doing anything twenty times harder. Soon, we were both retreating out of the way so we wouldn't get hit. It didn't take long before we were pushed all the way back into the stage area.

The catwalks were barely hanging on. Tenten was dealing with the three men who had been in the front row as best as she could. They were constantly sending Sound jutsu at her and she was trying to avoid them as the catwalk began to collapse slowly beneath her. I could see hear her yelling but I couldn't hear a word she was saying. My only hope was that she was alerting the ANBU to our situation.

Tenten had managed to maintain a height advantage which let her throw a few of her 'special' kunai at them in retaliation. The seats around them disappeared into a crater and the three found themselves on the catwalks, expecting relative safety. Well, until they found themselves at the wrong end of a pair of katanas wielded by a rather annoyed looking kunoichi.

I jumped up on the audience seats and started throwing a few explosion tagged kunai myself. Oh yeah, they really didn't like that. One charged at me, arm ready for a punch. I dodged one strike, two, three and four in rapid succession. The speed of his punches was nothing like what Lee could throw, it was almost child's play.

"Goddamn it, you bitch, stay still!"

Oh... HELL NO.

I hope the Sound-nin learned that day that there are few words you never use when fighting a Konoha kunoichi. The b-word was definitely one of them. I didn't just hit the guy hard. I hit him, sent him into his friend and then watched as they both disappeared into the horizon.

Yeah. Try saying that word again with your jaw firmly stuck somewhere near your feet.

The catwalk whined and fell down into the seats, sending up an enormous plume of dust. I checked on Ino first, who used that moment to leave her body as she took over one of her attackers' minds. I held her up as best I could while I searched for Tenten. I took me a moment to realize it wasn't just her fighting anymore. One of the ANBU squads had appeared to lend a hand.

"Sparrow?" I yelled into the mic, hoping that Hinata was still in range.

"I'm fine, Blossom-san. ANBU have met up with us and we are heading towards the train station."

That was a relief. Ino squirmed in my arms as she came back to her body. "No one else is coming, this was it. ...are you groping me?" she demanded.

I dropped her so she fell between the rows of seats. I did, at least, take a moment to appreciate her work. One of her attackers was down, the other had managed to pin himself to a wall with kunai. He seemed somewhat confused as to why he would do that to himself.

The ANBU made quick work of the stragglers. Tenten came over and helped Ino stand up, trying not to laugh at the fact that she was firmly wedged there with her feet in the air.

I jumped up to the balcony where Sasuke had been but there was no trace of him save a familiar scent lingering in the air. I gently touched the seat where he had been sitting. It was still warm. I couldn't move for a moment, all I could think of was that stupid opera. Of that wife who couldn't let go, who let herself be dragged and finally was left behind. I understood each one of those sobs, each moment from when he left until the end.

Only my end wasn't going to be like hers. I wasn't left alone, people had come to help me. I held onto the chair tightly until it cracked and broke apart under the strain. The assembled Konoha group looked up, expecting another attack. But I simply brushed my hands against my dress and jumped down.

"Head out! We have a train to catch."


	10. Ino: Inconsistencies

So yeah... this defector. Beyond creepy. Bad enough we almost all got killed by a bunch of Sound-nin, but you think I'd at least get to relax on the train ride home. No such luck. I drew the short stick and got stuck with the first watch while the other girls got to shower and sleep.

He had been staring at me for fifteen minutes straight. Like, not the good kind of 'Wow, that girl is hot' staring. The 'I could eat you in one bite' sort of look.

"What?" I demanded, looking over at him. He just smiled, a row of pointy teeth suddenly visible. I pulled my dress closer to my body, trying to show less leg. Seriously, don't they have dental care in Sound?

He stood up and it was like every part of me was on fire. My muscles tensed, my eyes locked on him and I was ready to take him down if he got within two feet of me. Instead, he turned to the bathroom, casually running a hand through his white hair.

I was about to relax when the door behind me opened. I jumped up, ready for anything, only to find a sleepy-looking Hinata walking in. I shot her an unimpressed glance. I knew she had probably burned through most of her chakra dragging our new friend to safety while protecting him until ANBU showed up. She was obviously still exhausted.

"I'm here to relieve you, Ino-san," she said softly, trying to stifle a yawn.

I rolled my eyes. "As if you'd last five minutes on watch. Go back to bed, I'll be fine."

"No, I couldn't..."

"Yes you can," I smiled sweetly. "You'll just owe me one."

Hinata hesitated for a second. She was a smart girl, but I could see she was ready to collapse; so I just poured on the charm and the smiles and eventually she relented. Sucker. As soon as she was gone, I leaned back in the seat and started to think of the ways I could call that favor in.

The defector came back in and slowly sat down in his seat. His eyes lingered a bit on my chest and I swear I almost killed him. Ew, just ew. I don't usually mind the occasional leer (I'm hot, I know they can't help themselves) but this guy was just off.

Eventually Tenten came to take over and I was satisfied she wasn't going to fall asleep. Okay... fine, I tried the same thing on her that I did on Hinata but she wasn't going to let me win that easy.

A quick shower, and I was almost human again. Lying in the bed I began to review my current to-do list for Operation Clueless and Operation Hopeless. Clueless was going to need a push again as Hyuuga couldn't be bothered with changing the status quo. Subtle hints weren't working, time for the more direct approach. Maybe lock them in a closet? ...nah, Tenten would probably chop through the door in record time and I'd been on the wrong end of whatever weapon she used to do that.

I was going to think about Hopeless but I just passed out. I didn't use a lot of chakra but the gentle rhythm of the train was like a lullaby. I didn't wake up until we were at the station nearest to Konoha. And that was only because Sakura was shaking me like I was a tambourine.

"WHAT!" I yelled, finally awake enough.

"We've been in the station for TEN minutes," she snapped back.

I sat up and looked out the window. Okay, fine, maybe she was right, but that didn't mean she had to rattle me to the bones. I was ready to reply, a great little retort bound to sting her a bit, but she sat down on the bed with that completely defeated look she sometimes gets and that killed the desire to use it immediately.

"He was there," she whispered.

I didn't need elaboration on the 'he', only one guy could make her look so down. One guy, who, if I EVER got my hands on him, would be less of a man. If you catch my drift.

Words were useless in situations like this so I just put my arm around her and hugged her close. She didn't cry, which I guess some people would think was progress. But I knew better. It made me despise him more. Sakura had always worn her heart on her sleeve, her constant whirlwind of emotions made us compatible and the best of friends. But now, it was like she was starting to close up.

I hated him. I hated him SO MUCH. But at the moment I couldn't channel my rage at him as he wasn't there. So instead I used it to mold the most evil, hateful glare directed at someone who had been close to him. As we left the station, each of us took a cardinal position with him in the center and started to walk down the road. ANBU shadowed us in the forest, never seen or heard. It wasn't going to be a fast return home but it was the safest.

I was behind him but even if he couldn't see my glare, he should feel it crawling over his skin like a million fire ants. But even after an hour straight of walking, he never even bothered to look my way. Time for the direct approach.

"Why did you defect from Sound?" I demanded.

He didn't stop walking, just shrugged his shoulders. "No special reason."

My eyebrow twitched. What the hell kind of answer was that? "You can't be serious."

He stopped and turned around. "Well... I heard the girls in Konoha were pretty. I guess we'll see once we get there." Hinata flinched, he started walking again and Tenten was suddenly next to me grabbing hold of the hand that had somehow found a dozen kunai.

"No killing," she said firmly.

"Maiming?" I asked hopefully. She frowned.

Tsk, it was totally unfair. I should have at least been able to salvage some of my pride. Instead, I resumed glaring. I glared as we walked all day. I glared as we prepared for a night in the hotel. I glared right up until we passed through the gates of Konoha. And then I let it go because, honestly, all that glaring was going to give me wrinkles.

We went to be debriefed but Hokage wasn't there; something about a big meeting in Iwagakure. Some old guy took our report, looking completely unimpressed despite our awesomeness. Hello, we had held back Sound-nin on our own... with some assistance from ANBU, but whatever. It was still a complete win, especially considering that...

"Uchiha Sasuke was there?" the old man asked.

Sakura nodded firmly. "He was observing the situation."

The man frowned and looked at one of the ANBU. "And you concur, captain?"

The ANBU shot a quick glance at Sakura before responding. "It seems... unlikely, Danzo-san."

"What?" Sakura demanded. "He was there! Why would I lie?"

The ANBU's voice was steady. "If he was there, then we would all probably be dead."

"I agree," Danzo replied. "Your attachment to that boy is evident, but he is a traitor and I have no doubt that if he had been there, not only would the defector have been killed but all of you would have as well."

"But..." Sakura trailed off and looked at me. True, I had been there with her at the time but... I looked away from her and concentrated on a spot on the floor. I heard the defeat in her final reply and the dismissal from Danzo. As soon as we were outside the Hokage's Tower, I tried to catch Sakura but she was gone, brushing me off and disappearing in a plume of smoke.

I sighed. Hinata and Tenten looked at me nervously, not sure what was going on. But I didn't bother explaining. Because I didn't know if what I was thinking was even possible. I needed time to gather my thoughts. So I left them and found a patch of open green grass. I lay down and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds go by.

It was probably about an hour later when someone sat next to me.

"What did you do?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nothing!" I replied, with a frown. Geez, you'd think I always got in trouble.

Shikamaru sighed and leaned back on the ground, looking up at the sky. "You come here when you've got too much on your mind and need to sort it out," he drawled. "So it makes me think either Operation Clueless or Operation Hopeless has gone astray."

I frowned. "They're perfectly on schedule."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" Then he went back to cloud watching. He wouldn't pry but this was the one case that I kind of wanted him too.

You see, I had this crazy idea. I know Sasuke was there, I saw him. But like ANBU said, why wouldn't he just kill the defector right then and there? Unless… well, unless he wanted the guy to defect. And that meant he was there to make sure he made it to Konoha safely.

Crazy, right?

But think about it. If Sound wanted someone in Konoha, what better way then to set up a double agent? But... it didn't seem like Orochimaru's style. He was more the 'destroy everything' type of person. I'm pretty sure if he wanted something in Konoha, he'd just send enough Sound-nin in to plow through our defenses. And if a few got killed in the process, I don't think he would have cared much.

This was subtle. There was something Sound wanted in Konoha but they wanted to get it out without us knowing. No... wait. It wasn't Sound. It was...

"I've got it!" I cried, sitting up. "Shika-kun..." But I trailed off. He was passed out on the grass. I rolled my eyes and poked at his nose. It scrunched up a bit and he went right on sleeping.

I didn't bother to wake him up. I had other people to call in for backup and he was obviously exhausted. I ran home and picked up the phone, starting to dial. Chouji was on a mission and Hinata was in a 'council meeting', whatever that was. I finally got Tenten on the phone.

"I just need you for like half an hour," I started.

There was a pause. "Well... I was supposed to train with Neji, but I guess I could..."

"No!" I cut her off. This was perfect! She'd been gone for a week and we weren't back in Konoha for more then six hours and they were already planning to see each other. GAH, why couldn't they just both see how much they wanted each other?

"What?"

"I mean... it's totally fine," I said. "It was just some shopping. So you're going training?"

There was a long pause before she spoke again. "Um... yes?"

"That's great! I mean you and Neji train so well together."

Tenten was sensing the trap but couldn't quite see where it was leading. "Well... thanks?"

"I'm just saying," I continued, "it's good that you still train with your genin team. Chouji and Shika and I try to get together once a week."

"Yeah... I mean, it's not like Lee doesn't train with us. He just tends to stick with Gai-sensei."

"I understand, Shika and Asuma-sensei would play Shougi for hours," I laughed. She laughed. Perfect. She's at ease, now was the time to strike. "So do you guys go out for food afterwards?"

"Oh... yeah, sure, sometimes."

"We went to Ginza last week. It's the new restaurant that just opened. You should totally go after training today."

"Well, I don't..."

"They have the best chocolate fudge cake." I smiled, knowing full well that this was one of Tenten's weaknesses. In fact, I could hear her thinking on the other end of the phone. It would be silly to go by herself just for a dessert, people would look at her oddly, sitting alone at a table. But hey, conveniently there was someone she was meeting in a short while who was known to eat out occasionally.

I waited for it all to click into place, clutching the phone impatiently.

"You know... we haven't really tried anything new," she said slowly. I squealed in delight and then just prayed she hadn't heard. "It might be worth looking into."

"Great! I know you'll love it. Just ask for Futuma when you get there and he'll take care of you."

"Oh, okay. Thanks Ino. Have fun shopping."

I hung up the phone with a smile as big as Konoha itself. Ginza was a new restaurant, a romantic new restaurant nestled right on lake. At night the fireflies came out and the moon turned the water to silver. Futuma was their head maître d' and he had promised me last week that just mentioning his name would get the best spot in the restaurant. Operation Hopeless was full steam ahead.

But I was still without someone to help with my other problem. Really all that was left was Sakura but... I don't think I could ask her for help in this. Still, I did need to at least explain.

I called but all I got was the machine.

"Sakura-chan, listen, we need to talk. About Sasuke. I know he was there but... look I think I know what's going on but I need to prove it otherwise that Danzo guy is going to blow us off again. So can we meet later?" I paused. I knew she was there. She was probably just angry or sulking or both. "Okay, just meet for ice cream in a couple of hours. I'll explain there."

I hung up and frowned. Let's say I was right. That Sasuke sent this defector to Konoha to get something for him. There was only one place in Konoha I could think he'd have something he wanted to retrieve. I grabbed a kunai pouch and a few scrolls before heading to the Uchiha compound.

Part of me recognized that this was stupid. I should just go and demand that Danzou send ANBU to look for whatever the defector was searching for. But the guy just didn't strike me as the type to change his mind once it was made up. Like I told Sakura, we needed proof. So I was just going to have to get it myself.

As I was walking towards the compound I recognized a face in the crowd. It was Hyuuga. PERFECT.

"Hi!" I smiled, running up to meet him.

I'll give him credit for not visibly flinching when I caught up with him. Instead, he maintained his calm. "Yamanaka," he replied.

"I hear you're off to train with Tenten," I said. He looked a bit confused as to how I would know that. "She totally blew me off when I asked her to go shopping because she had plans with you."

He paused. "She could have rescheduled."

I shrugged. "No big, I know she likes training with you better then anything else."

If he wasn't Neji, I would have heard the sigh. "Yamanaka..."

"Yes?" I replied sweetly.

"You are... persistent."

"Well, of course I am. Tenten and I are really good friends and I want to see her happy. Don't you?"

"Of course."

"So..."

"So?"

I sighed in frustration. "You both deserve each other," I replied, hands on my hips. "You're both so damn stubborn that you'll spend the rest of your lives two millimeters from being together rather then take a chance. You know, there's no guarantee she's going to be around. Something could happen, it's not like we have the safest jobs in the world. One second you're here, laughing with your friends, and the next..."

I stopped. Hyuuga looked... well, he almost looked concerned. I realized I had stopped talking about Tenten midway through that last train of thought. I didn't realize I was afraid up until now. He was about to say something but I jumped in.

"Sorry, just... stressed out over the last mission," I said, hoping the lie would hold.

He didn't reply right away. "You shouldn't worry. Tenten speaks highly of your mission capability. You were and should continue to be able to face whatever you have to."

I... okay, I blushed. I admit it. You don't just brush off a compliment like that. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks. Have fun training and afterwards," I said, leaving him with a confused look as I took off. I did help settle my mind a bit. I knew this was dangerous but I could handle it. It's not like the defector wouldn't have an ANBU guard with him. All I had to do was convince them of the possibility of something fishy going on.

I made my way quickly to the Uchiha compound, looking for anything suspicious as I did. The place was huge, it took me almost twenty minutes to cover the first quarter of it. Everything was deserted, covered in a layer of dust and cobwebs. The whole complex was beyond depressing. And it was perfectly normal right until I saw the two ANBU lying in the street. I approached them carefully, searching for any signs of life. Before I could check for a pulse, I heard someone moving in the building nearby. I carefully pulled out a kunai and a scroll from my pouch, making sure I kept my noise down to a minimum.

I unfurled the scroll and bit my finger, drawing enough blood to activate the alarm beacon. Just as I pressed it to the paper, he attacked, exiting the door and coming at me with both of the ANBU's katanas. I deflected with a kunai and backed up to try to get enough distance. But the 'defector' was vicious. I gained a couple of feet of breathing room at the expense of an open wound on my arm.

I realized defense wasn't going to work so I charged, dodging the first katana that swiped at my head and deflecting the other at my side with the kunai. I pulled another kunai out and slashed at his midsection, scoring a hit but only getting splashed with water for my trouble. What the hell? Had he just turned his body to water?

He attacked again, and even with two kunai to deflect I was having problems keeping up. My right leg suddenly collapsed and I was on my knees before I realized I had been hit. Something grabbed my ponytail and all I could see out of the corner of my eye was a row of pointed teeth. I didn't get a snappy retort, not even some proclamation about how weak I was. All I felt was a sharp pain in my side and I couldn't move.

He let me drop to the ground and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. Where the hell was backup? The alarm should have reached them by now. I saw him run back into the house and come out with something in his hand. It felt like it had been hours but it was only a minute. Backup would get here too late.

As he disappeared I forced one hand to move to the puddle of blood near my side. Some part of me wanted to panic over how much there was. But I kept it silent and concentrated on the task at hand. Slowly I drew one kanji and one arrow pointing in the direction he had gone. And that was all I could do.


	11. Tenten: Terminal Decision

Sometimes I think Ino should be classified as a S-rank criminal. No, not just an S-rank. An S-rank criminal with a kill-on-sight order on her, the dreaded Ruby order. An order that was trumped by few others. An order issued to all members of Konoha and not rescindible, now matter what the circumstances.

"Ginza is... an interesting choice," Neji said to my suggestion. "I believe a cousin of mine went there and found it very... romantic."

I paled, I cringed, I mentally planned how I would kill Ino. Damn it, if she hadn't mentioned the stupid cake I wouldn't have gotten distracted and failed to see she was plotting. And then I could have saved myself from the oncoming onslaught of humiliation.

"Did my glorious flower of youth just ask her teammate out on a date?" Gai-sensei asked, eyes gleaming with either happiness or sadness. I can never really tell. I thought we were lucky running into him and Lee at our normal training ground. Boy, was I wrong.

"Tenten! We can go on a double date! If you can find the the courage to ask Neji, then I can find the strength to ask Sakura-san too!"

First of all, he asked Sakura out all the time. But more importantly, "Lee... that's not..."

"And if Gai-sensei finds a date as well, then it will be a triple date! Think of it Gai-sensei!"

"I can find two dates! And then it will be a quadruple date, Lee!"

"Hang on," I said. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

I hung my head in defeat and found a place against a tree to rest while they went through the normal theatrics. As soon as he was clear of the love-fest, Neji joined me as well. I looked up at him apologetically and was met with a half smile.

"Yamanaka," he said.

I laughed. "Did she get to you, too?"

"In a way."

"I'm sorry. I mean, she's a sweetheart and a great friend. She's just... persistent."

He smiled a bit, just a bit, at that. "She is that."

We stood in silence for a while, watching Lee and Gai-sensei hammer out the terms of their bet. Currently sensei had decided that he would bring an entire harem with him or he would run two hundred laps around Fire Country. Yeah, go ahead and laugh at that but I've seen the way some kunoichi look at him. Some seriously deranged, color blind ones, but you'd be surprised how many of those there are.

"Do you think she's wrong?"

That broke my train of thought quickly. I looked over at him in confusion. "About Ginza? I'm sure the cake is really good."

He looked at me with a hint of impatience. "Not that."

I bit my lip and tried to zero in on what he was asking. But it was like the bull's-eye wasn't visible no matter how hard I looked. I could only think about one thing, but there was no possible way that THAT would be what he was referring to.

"About us."

... well crap. THAT was exactly what he was referring to. I looked up at him and tried to not look completely stupid. But my cheeks were flushing and I was stammering a reply and...

A hawk cried out above the training ground. The four of us instantly grew silent. It was an emergency alert, sent directly from the Hokage. No one said a word, we just took off to our assigned position. I was tearing through the treetops, heading towards ANBU headquarters, desperately trying not to roll his words around in my head.

_About us._

My mind was cluttered up until I was strapping on the arm guards. Not concentrating on the task at hand was going to get me killed. An ANBU captain came up and pointed at three of us. For once, I was almost glad that I wasn't in Neji's squad. He was likely with the rest of his family, acting as the eyes of Konoha and scanning for any signs of the intruders.

I slipped the radio into my ear and was rewarded with a lot of chatter. Something had happened at the Uchiha compound. Two ANBU were down, not dead but injured. As was...

I had to stop for a moment or fall off the branch. Part of me wanted to go back and make sure Ino was okay. What happened? Why was she in the Uchiha compound? In my chest, I felt my heart constrict as I remembered our conversation. Was she asking for my help back then? Did she know the danger?

The captain of our squad looked back at me, waiting to see if I would continue with them. I nodded firmly. I couldn't help Ino, that was beyond my control. But finding the bastard that did that to her and beating him to a pulp, that I could do.

"Victim left two notes. One is 'book', the other is an arrow pointing west."

Wordlessly, the captain shifted direction west. A few hand signals was all we needed to understand our mission. Stop the target, retrieve the book. I repeated that to myself. Stop the target, retrieve the book.

Stop the target, retrieve the book.

_About us._

I cursed loudly, drawing attention from my ANBU teammates. This was a disaster, plain and simple. I couldn't keep my mind on the task at hand. All I could think about was what exactly I would have said if that hawk didn't show up. Yes? That would be simple enough, but suicidal. She's crazy? Well... I could have said but Neji would have seen it was a lie. I wanted to be mad at Ino for breaking this carefully constructed balance I had achieved. I got to grow into the kunoichi I always wanted to be, judged not by her teammates but by her own skills. And I got to stay near him, toying with the idea that maybe, someday, things would evolve.

I just didn't want it to be today. Or tomorrow. Or any time soon. Because if we tried to advance from constant teammates to something else and it failed...

Ino's condition was being reported on constantly; I could pick out Sakura's voice in the mix, shouting orders about how to stop the bleeding. The team to our south made contact and finally my focus shifted completely to the upcoming fight.

"Here we go," the captain said, fire and smoke appearing quickly in our field of vision.

We jumped into the fray just as the other team was defeated. The defector looked less then pleased to see us.

"I'm getting kind of tired of this," he stated. "At least offer up a bit more of a fight."

The ANBU captain let loose a fireball, giving us the chance to jump to the trees for cover. I rounded the enemy, preparing to flank him from the side. The captain had his katana out but it was proving completely ineffective against the enemy. Our earpieces were a stream of information suddenly. Suigetsu Hōzuki. Sound-nin formerly from Mist. Waterform Technique. Things clicked in place immediately for me but before I could warn the captain of the danger, he was thrown into a tree and slid down it, unconscious.

"Lightning," I called out. It gave away my position but I couldn't risk the warning getting lost in radio chatter. Immediately, I felt the air around me ionize as one of the ANBU prepared to strike. Suigetsu was there beside me instantly, likely thinking that they wouldn't risk a strike with me nearby. Safety of an ANBU squad was important, but not paramount, and so I was still in range when the lightning strike hit us both.

It wasn't lethal, just enough to cause a lot of discomfort. I fell out of the tree, Suigetsu following suit. We hit the ground and he seemed to be more water then flesh for a moment. I took the chance and reached forward, fingers curling around the book and pulling it towards me. He fought back, slowly reforming and reaching for his sword.

I recognized that sword. It was one of the swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. I had a model collection of those when I was a kid. If I wasn't mistaken, that was Zabuza's sword. I suppose it would have been real neat to see it in person if he wasn't planning to cut me in half with it.

I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out a kunai. The piece of paper on its end fluttered as I threw it at him. Suigetsu jumped back, expecting an explosion as it hit the ground, but was instead met with a deafening boom and a flash of light.

Stop the target, retrieve the book.

Those were the orders. Not kill the target, stop him. And I was very good at following orders. Suigetsu was momentarily blinded. He missed the branch he was aiming for and fell backwards again. I didn't waste too much time wondering why the other squad members didn't go after him as fast as I did. I reached him on the ground and picked up the book, holding it close to my chest. My white chest plate was blackened, singed from the lightning strike. I didn't want to think about my hair. It was probably a mess.

"This is squad nine," I said into the mic. "Target stopped. Book..."

I trailed off. Someone jumped from the foliage and landed behind Suigetsu. I took a step back, wondering where the hell the rest of the squad was. When I got a good look at him, I knew.

"Uchiha Sasuke," I said softly, watching as he came towards me. He stopped, looking down at Suigetsu.

My earpiece erupted with voices. I drowned them all out. It didn't matter what they said now. I knew what I had to do.

"Uchiha Sasuke," I said, firmer tone this time, slipping the book in the space between the chest piece and my stomach. "Konohagakure has issued a Ruby order on you for acts of treason." More voices. I thought I heard the Hokage's in the mix demanding to know who issued the order. I had to be wrong on that. Only the Hokage could issue this order.

"You will go no further," I stated, pulling a kunai from my pouch and holding it in front of me. I'd like to pretend it was steady but I knew I was wavering. I tried to ignore the growing feeling of panic that was collecting in my stomach.

He smirked and looked at me. "What is one ANBU going to do against me?"

I cut into my forearm, drawing blood. Instantly the hidden tattoo on my skin came to life. It was beautiful, almost a crime that it was never meant to be seen. The pattern was just like all the brush strokes on my weapon scrolls, a deep black that swirled into barely legible words. I felt it start to draw on my chakra, infusing the blood as it fell the ground.

"Blow you to Hell," I replied. The blood caught fire as soon as it met soil. It snaked away quickly, leaving a thin trail of fire as it shot out and disappeared into the forest.

I looked into his eyes, seeing the wheels of Sharigan turning. He was seeing what I already knew. This was a weapon's summon, a very specific one. It was for a bomb. A bomb that had just ignited and was rapidly approaching detonation. I could see him try to determine how to stop it, looking for the source of this power so he could plug it back up.

Some people have kekkei genkai, a genetic gift that makes them superior ninja. Some people have endless supply of determination to power them through to be the best. Me? I just had my weapons. I made them, I loved them, I excelled at using them. And this was my best weapon of all.

Each drop of blood continued to eat away at the forest, slowly turning things to ash. It was creating a pattern, a large circle that once complete, would destroy anything still inside it. Killing me would just make it go faster. I held the kunai to my neck to dispel any thought of trying to trick me into stopping it. It would take too long and I'd do my damnedest to make sure I was dead before he even started. I saw all his plans turn in his mind until he began to realize there was only one thing left. So I made sure he understood that that wasn't going to work either.

"You'll never clear the blast radius in time."

Suigetsu got up just as Uchiha disappeared. He spared me a glance before following after the Uchiha. I knelt on the ground, pressing a trembling hand to my ear. The chatter hadn't stopped, it was more fervent now. Calmly, I announced the blast radius into the mic, hoping to give the other ANBU teams enough time to get out of range.

I wanted to ask about Ino but I didn't have the heart. Either she made it and I wouldn't see her again, or she didn't and we'd meet again soon.

_About us._

I was crying without realizing it. Stupid Ino, if she hadn't have said anything I would have gone to my grave thinking love would always be unrequited. Now I was afraid that it might not have been.

I always thought you saw your past in moments like this. Instead I thought of all the things that might have occurred if Ino had succeeded with her plots. There would have been double dates with Lee. Dinners at places like Ginza all the time. Quiet evenings watching the stars and mornings of waking up no longer alone. All the hopes and dreams for a full life that I had pushed away in pursuit of my goals as a kunoichi. I was going to die in the line of duty, as any kunoichi would be proud to do. And it meant nothing in comparison to the what-if.

I took off the ear piece. It was getting to difficult to listen to the voices. Some of them must have realized who I was and the pleas were getting too personal. I placed it in my lap, the mic still attached. My chakra was almost gone. The skin on my arm had started to burn, the final stage of ignition.

_About us._

"She was right," I answered.

I closed my eyes and waited for the final burn. I didn't hear the birds anymore. I didn't feel the wind. All there was, was a gentle sense of...

"THIS IS AN EMERALD ORDER."

I blinked, quickly looking down at the mic. I quickly picked it up and held it to my ear.

"Maintaining the Uchiha Book is now classified as an EMERALD ORDER. Hokage seven seven, two five one..."

I listened the code number, praying that it was right, that this was real. Emerald orders were the highest, reserved for only the most desperate of times. The Hokage had just trumped the Ruby order for this one. The book would be destroyed by the explosion if I continued on course. I held on to the kunai tightly, looking at my arm, searching for the kanji I needed to slash to kill the bomb. It was so hard to see. The fire was so intense around me and I was so tired.

"COMPLY!" the Hokage yelled.

I tried. I tried but it was so difficult. I couldn't see or breath or...

There was a breeze and the sound of a footfall behind me. The kunai was gone from my hand. I tried to concentrate but was lost in the sea of white and brown.

"Which one?

It was Neji.

Neji who had hated our team when he first met them. Who had trained with me even though I was so much weaker. Who put up with me on missions even though I could barely keep up with him and Lee.

He had helped me get to Chuunin. To Jounin. To ANBU. To be one of the best kunoichi of my generation.

He put up with my crazy female friends, allowed me to drag him to dinner and always waited while I ate dessert. He would help sharpen my kunai, watch me paint kanji on scrolls, and listen while I told him how to disarm the explosive ones.

Ino had been right. About us, she was completely right.

He pulled off my ANBU mask, grabbing my chin so I was looking at him. I could see his eyes, staring back into mine, filled with something I never thought I'd see. Fear. It occurred to me that there was no way he could have reached me if he had only started when the Hokage issued the Emerald order.

"Which one?" he asked again.

I smiled. What other kanji would be appropriate for saving my life? "White," I said.

He cut with the kunai and the world went black.


	12. Hinata: Height

It had only been half a day since the events at the Uchiha compound transpired. In some great act of benevolence, no one had died and a great rain storm had crossed the forest, extinguishing the fires, as night fell. Within the confines of the Hyuuga compound, we were quietly preparing to receive our wounded. True, some would pass through the normal hospital first, but they would convalesce here. I held several blankets in my arms as I crossed the compound, Hanabi following quietly behind me.

"Is it true?" she asked, suddenly.

I nodded once. Yes, Uchiha Sasuke had returned to Fire Country to retrieve a book from his family's compound. His subordinate had eluded capture until an ANBU squad determined his weakness. They, in turn, came face to face with his master. It had been a harrowing experience for all, but for our family in particular when we realized who the remaining ANBU had been.

I looked towards the Branch part of the compound and pondered, once more, going to check on my cousin. Sakura-san had moved him out of the hospital almost as soon as he was tended to. His wounds were minor, some burns but nothing that we couldn't heal ourselves. All I knew was that threats were issued and that she had bluntly stated either he rested by his own volition or she would force it on him. He chose to have it forced on him. I am thankful, in moments like this, that his sensei and teammate are strong enough to bring him home rather than the added indignation of having the medics drop him off with a few scrapes.

I went to the door as soon as the blankets were dropped off. I checked down the street with Byakugan, looking for the medics who were bring my cousins home. One had been guarding the defector, the other had been on an ANBU squad. The medics had assured us they would recover, but I couldn't help but worry over their condition. As soon as I caught sight of them, I went to meet them.

"Hinata-sama," one of them said, looking as if he would try to stand up out of the stretcher.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, quickly putting a hand to his shoulder to stop him while examining his wounds.

"Haruno-sensei did an excellent job," he replied.

"That is good to hear." I glanced at the other patient and found him fast asleep.

"He should wake up in the hour," the medic said. I briefly discussed with him their care, taking note of their medication and restrictions. I sighed mentally at the restriction on training. Hyuuga love to train, it would be difficult to follow that order through. I'd have to enlist several family members to make sure it was enforced.

We arrived at the compound and I quickly handed control over to the people waiting there. I searched for my father but found he was not on the compound at the moment. An elder informed me he was enlisted to help with the search for the enemy party.

"Shall we serve dinner soon?" the elder asked me.

I paused, trying to hide my surprise. In the past, when my father was away, the elders would just assume control. This is the first time they asked for my opinion on something. Even if it was something as trivial as this, it was still a significant move on their part.

"The main dining hall in twenty minutes," I replied evenly. It was what my father usually said and I saw no reason to change it. The elder bowed slightly and disappeared quickly.

Dinner was promptly served twenty minutes later and I was ushered to my father's seat at the front of the table. I received the first serving of food and the others waited until I began eating. As soon as that occurred, conversation bloomed and the buzz at the table was about Uchiha and speculation about what the book might contain. Some assumed it was a secret, forbidden jutsu. Some joked it was the Uchiha family's secret cookie recipe. I listened to all the talk, taking in the sounds as I do the sights when Byakugan is active. Most people were relaxed but there was an underlying sense of concern.

News about the book was in abundance. News about Tenten-san was not. I turned quietly to Hanabi.

"Can you go to hospital after dinner and ask them for additional burn cream?" I asked.

She looked at me and read the hidden meaning of those words. "I will."

After dinner, I made sure to deliver plates to the two wounded Hyuuga. I sat with both to make sure they had eaten it all and that they had taken their medications before leaving them to rest.

"You've grown," one of them said, and I stared at him puzzled. I wasn't aware that I had increased in height recently.

Finally, I prepared a plate to bring to Neji-niisan. I knocked once but received no answer. I paused at the door, marveling at how what I was about to do would have been impossible only a few years ago. I opened the door and walked in.

He was sleeping, though not restfully. Whatever Sakura-san had used was still working but its effect was not as peaceful as she would have liked. I placed the food down, making sure the cover was intact so that it would not cool too rapidly. Sakura-san had promised eight hours of sleep but it wouldn't surprise me if Neji-niisan woke up before that. I quietly pulled the blanket straight and spotted the kunai tangled in the sheets. I frowned as I drew it free before noticing the owner's signature carved into the metal. I carefully placed it on his bed stand so he could find it easily.

When I left his room, I heard the commotion at the front door. I quickly made my way there, finding several elders huddled in front of a small group of shinobi. They wore gray and black, tell-tale signs of Torture and Interrogation agents. I made my way towards them and the elders fell silent.

"How can we help you?" I asked, politely.

"Hyuuga-sama, we require a Byakugan user to help us unlock the Uchiha book," the one who was in charge stated.

I nodded once. It did not surprise me that the book was locked. And more often then not, chakra was used to keep it so. Byakugan would see how it worked, allowing the agents to eventually unlock it. I looked around and determined that I was the best choice for this matter. My Byakugan may not have been the strongest, but my father was away and Neji-niisan was sleeping.

"I will go," I said.

The agents shifted nervously. "That is... kind, Hyuuga-sama. But we thought someone with more... experience would be better."

"My father is on mission."

"We are aware of that." When I didn't reply, he continued. "But your cousin is..."

"Resting," I interrupted.

"That may be, but this is of paramount importance and..."

"Something I can handle," I finished. The group of assembled Hyuuga had gone silent save one.

"Hinata-sama's skill has increased in the past months," one of the elders said.

"That may be the case," the agent replied, "but I still think Hyuuga Neji is the one we need."

I did not need to look to see the annoyance that played across the elder's face. She was right to be upset. You did not enter the Hyuuga house and dismiss their suggestions and orders. If you came and asked for assistance, we would most certainly comply as best we could.

"So, if you don't mind," he said, taking a step forward.

I thought of Neji-niisan, how Sakura-san had to force him to sleep. I could only guess at what he was going through, having reached Tenten-san only just in time. And I understood that even if it hadn't been for Hokage-sama's order, he still would have gone. This was not the time to force him to do anything but rest.

I stared at this man who tried to gain entrance into our house and felt something well up inside me. It had been there when I stood at the council meeting and saved Sakura-san's group, my group, from elimination. It had been there as I walked with Kazekage-sama in the rain. It burned even harder now as I sensed a threat to my cousin.

"Who are you to demand something of Hyuuga?" I said, my voice even and without emotion.

Everyone froze. Not just the agents at the door but my family behind me. They had never heard me speak like this, I didn't think it was possible up until this very moment. Because as I continued, I realized I was using the same exact tone my father would use in situations like this.

"I meant no disrespect..." The agent started.

"I will accompany you," I stated firmly.

The agent paused for a second more before acquiescing. As we walked out the door, I saw that Hanabi had returned. She had an odd look in her face as I passed. If it had been anyone else, I would say she looked a little afraid, a little sad. I nodded at her, silently asking about Tenten-san's condition. She nodded once and I felt better leaving.

We took two steps before I finally understood why Hanabi looked somewhat distraught. In acting like the head of the Main House, in receiving the recognition of the elders... It was a foolish thing to think. Hadn't Naruto-kun promised he would eliminate the restraints of our house? But I suppose she didn't have the same faith in him as I did. I turned to her and caught her eye.

"Please watch over the house until father or I return." A bit of relief flooded her features and she bowed.

The headquarters of Torture and Interrogation were about as pleasant as expected. The rooms were all cold and without color or much light. The room with the book in it was no better then the rest and I regretted being here with only a yukata on. I looked across the assembled group of agents and recognized none save Ibiki-san. He gave me a passing glance before looking up at the agents that escorted me here.

"We will give you a few minutes to prepare," Ibiki said, leaving the room with his subordinates. Likely, he was less then pleased to find me in my cousin's stead. It became more important that I prove them wrong.

I activated Byakugan and the room lit up. The book was exuding a large amount of chakra, drenching everything in a soft ice-blue hue. I didn't know what it was at all. I wanted to panic, fearful that I had accepted too much responsibility too quickly. So the elders let me set up dinner and eat at the head of the table. What did that really mean in the long run? Father could have just ordered them to ask.

I took in a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. In the months I had trained with Sakura-san, Ino-san and Tenten-san, I had felt stronger. As Sakura-san had suggested, I had even applied for a jounin exam later this year. So why was I so afraid now?

I thought of Ino-san and Tenten-san lying the hospital. I thought of Neji-niisan forced to sleep and still fighting it. Carefully, I reached out a hand and touched the web of blue. A single thread of chakra followed my finger as I moved it back. I glanced at the thread with surprise.

"What do you see?" Ibiki asked, standing at the doorway.

"It... it is chakra," I replied, "but it acts like a thread." I carefully pulled it and watched as knot emerged. I took in my hand delicately and examined it. "There are knots."

Ibiki was at my side. "Can you undo them?"

I pulled gently at the thread and watched as it released from the knot. "Yes, I think I... oh." It had only been a second but the knot had returned. I pulled again and then held onto the other thread, pulling at it until a second knot appeared.

"I've read about these," Ibiki said. "You need to pull in a certain order, quickly or else it will reset."

I deactivated Byakugan and looked down. The book appeared completely normal to the naked eye. "All right," I said, reactivating Byakugan to try again.

It took several hours before I was proficient in grabbing each thread and seeing where it connected. I was almost thankful for the lack of windows in this room as I was sure the sun had already risen. I wondered whether my father had returned or Neji-niisan had woken up, but as neither had come to replace me I assumed they were as I left them.

I sat down in a chair and took in a deep breath. My chakra limits were not in danger yet but I was definitely tiring. My stomach rumbled a bit and I looked down at it. Dinner couldn't have been that long ago. I closed my eyes and tried to meditate. It always seemed to help Neji-niisan push away distractions. All it made me do was smell ramen.

I woke up and found Naruto-kun two inches from my face. I could feel my entire face turn bright red and I let out a small squeak.

"AH!" he said, smiling broadly. "You ARE awake."

I nodded quickly, wondering exactly how long he would stand this close and finding I didn't mind if it was forever. I saw a steaming cup of ramen in his hand and my stomach growled towards it like a lion who caught sight of a wounded zebra.

I paled in embarrassment but Naruto-kun just laughed. "The old hag was right. She said you'd be hungry!" He held the cup out until I took it from him. "Eh... sorry it's just ramen. It's all I had."

I held the cup like it was the most precious thing in the world. Because right now, it was! Naruto-kun had given me, ME, something. Something he loved dearly. And... and... he was staring at me. I started to eat. "Ano... have you heard anything about..."

"Everyone's fine," he said. "Man, I wish I had been there. Stupid pervert with 'special training'." He pulled up a chair and sat down. "I could have kicked his ass this time."

I nodded as I chewed on some noodles.

"I knew you'd agree!" he smiled, leaning back in the chair. "I learned this great new technique. Sasuke-teme wouldn't have even seen it coming. It would have been WHAM... BAM... into the... woah!" The chair he was on pitched backwards and landed on the ground.

"Naruto-kun!" I said, jumping from my seat. I put the ramen on the table and knelt down next to him. "A-are you okay?"

He looked up after a second and laughed. "Well, it would have gone better then that." He sat up on the floor so that he was just inches away from me. "Hey, is that the book?"

I stood up quickly, putting some distance between us. "It is."

"What's in it?" he asked, holding it up and examining it.

"I-I don't know yet," I said.

He looked at the book in his hand very seriously. "You'll figure it out!" he said, as if it was foolish to think of it any other way. I smiled at his enthusiasm and nodded once. He handed me the book and his stomach growled. He put a hand to the back of his head and looked sheepishly at me.

"So... are you going to finish that ramen?"

Naruto-kun sat in the chair, eating his ramen while I examined the book. I had achieved a good rhythm, pulling each thread, undoing the knot and finding the next one. It was monotonous and one single mistake meant restarting the entire process. It was inefficient, like searching only a few inches of a town at a time when the target could be anywhere

That thought led to another, something my father had once said. "To see a single leaf in all its detail is not our goal. It is to see the entire forest in perfect clarity all at once."

"Byakugan's greatest strength is in seeing everything at once."

I stared at the book and concentrated on the first string. I followed it's path without touching it, seeing the first knot and following to the second thread. I repeated the process, following each thread on its path, starting to see where it fit into the lock as a whole. It wove into a beautiful pattern of light blue. I saw the details in the curves of each thread, I saw the way some formed their own sub patterns. In an instant, the entirety of the lock became known to me.

I moved for the first thread, quickly undoing the first knot before moving to the second. I felt my arms move in a steady rhythm, fast, until they became a blur. Chakra thread unwound quickly, falling away and disappearing. I think I heard Naruto-kun call my name once and then Ibiki-san's. I couldn't stop, the knot was unraveling, chakra draining for me as I forced Byakugan to its limit. Until finally, I saw the final knot and pulled. There was a flash of light and I was blinded for a moment. As soon as I could see again, I noted that the book lay open on the table.

I looked over at the door, chest heaving from the exertion. Ibiki and Naruto-kun both looked shocked and I smiled, just in time for the exhaustion and lack of chakra to catch up with me and send me dropping to the floor.


	13. Sakura: Surviving

"Please, Tsunade-shishou! I'm begging you!"

I was. I was down on my knees, prostrate on the ground before her desk. I was crying, my makeup was a wreck and my hair was completely disheveled. My clothes were in disarray and my heart was beating a mile a minute.

"Please," I said again, desperately hoping she would hear my plea.

There was a pause. And then she spoke.

"No."

Another pause and then laughter. Tsunade-shishou was laughing!

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but it really can't be as bad you make it out. They are your friends, more importantly, your team. Just... exert some leadership."

I sat up and looked at her, Inner's fury burning through my eyes. "Then you treat them."

Tsunade smiled, an idea brewing in her mind. "Only if you promise to do all my paperwork."

"No, no, no," Shizune said, striding into the room with Tonton close behind. The little pig came up to me and I scratched her ears while I frowned at Shizune.

"I'll do it," I promised. "Every last bit of paperwork."

"And none of it would be legal," Shizune replied. Before I got a chance to reply, she turned around swiftly and smacked shishou's hand as it reached into her desk for something. Based on the pile of papers in Shizune's hand, I was guessing it was her secret stash of sake. "You'll be fine, Sakura. What is the worst they can do?"

I would have answered, but the Village's fire alarm sounded and it said more than I could have. I disappeared and went to check on the hospital, somewhat surprised that it was not the building burning down. I walked into the waiting room and a haggard nurse catapulted herself towards me. The frazzled look on her face could only be the result of trying to check in on my team.

The nurse cried, muttering something about how one insulted her hair, the other almost attacked her when she tried to give her a shot, and the last... well Hinata was always quiet. I promised the nurse I would take care of it and stormed off towards the recovery ward.

Sure enough, it was in pure chaos. The male nurses were running around following Ino's sharp commands I could hear coming from the room. I saw them carrying pitchers of water, a vase of flowers and... was that a box of chocolates? I stepped in front of the door and they all came to a stop. I eyed each of them with disapproval, snatching items from their hands. Honestly, taking orders from Ino like that. What were they thinking?

"Hey, what's the holdup?" she demanded, suddenly sashaying to the door. Her blond hair was completely down, her robe was pulled in such away that nothing was indecent but, boy, did it give them a lot to imagine. And... when did she get bigger boobs than me?

"INO!" I yelled.

"Oh... hi, Forehead."

"Don't call me that!"

"Fine. Dr. Forehead. I needed a drink."

"And flowers and chocolates?" I yelled. "I told you, you are on a specific diet until I say so!"

"You could probably use the diet more then me," she smiled, poking my side... which was not flabby! It was just the way I was standing!

There was a harsh gasp from behind me and I could sense that the nurses were backing up. I looked at Ino, anger threatening to unleash the full force of Inner's wrath on her (which of all people, SHE should know not to invoke) but instead, I pushed her inside and then closed the door. I heard her protests but I ignored them as I turned to face the nurses behind me. I glared at them and they stood frozen in fear.

"BACK TO WORK!" I yelled and they scattered quickly. I turned back to the door and took in a deep breath. Shishou was right; I just needed to exert some control over the situation.

"Haruno-sensei?"

I almost bit off the head of the person that was asking me a question. Luckily, I had a bit of common sense left and decided to check who it was beforehand. Standing behind me was Hyuuga Hiashi, flanked by several members of his family. I groaned inwardly. I knew exactly what was coming up.

"Good morning, Hyuuga-sama," I said politely, quickly picking up Hinata's chart from the folder by the door. "Are you here to check in on Hinata?"

He nodded once. "And to see if I can convince you to allow her to come home."

I smiled and pulled up the pleasant noncommittal face that shishou had taught me was 'being diplomatic'. "I would, but to be honest, the last two members of your family I sent to your house to recover returned two days later with training injuries."

"A mistake that will not be repeated with my daughter," he said, tone smooth and without hesitation. The head of the Hyuuga had that polished voice that can only come from years of experience. And he was clearly going to outmatch any diplomacy I tried on him.

"Well..." I started, suddenly remember shishou laughing at me. "You should ask Hokage directly. Final discretion is with her."

When he agreed to do just that, I couldn't help but smile. Tsunade was completely on board with keeping Hinata here for another couple of days (what was it with Hyuugas and training?) so she'd have to defend the position herself. That'll make her day five times better.

I was relaying Hinata's condition as we opened the door. I sensed the danger as soon as I did and ducked, barely missing the pillow Ino tried to hit me with. Hiashi simply caught it and held it in front of him, looking at it with interest. No one spoke; Ino had turned pale as soon as she realized her mistake. Hinata just stared at him, as if waiting for something to happen. Tenten... odd, she was suddenly eying the floor by her bed as if she was plotting to escape under it.

Hiashi simply walked forward and held the pillow in front of Ino until she took it.

"Thank you, sir," she said politely, tugging her robe shut.

Hiashi continued forward to his daughter's bed, drawing the curtain closed around him and the other Hyuuga. Once they were gone from view, Ino looked at me sharply.

Why didn't you warn me? she mouthed.

Why did you try to hit me? I mouthed back.

Ino frowned and instantly started playing with her hair and straightening her clothes. She rifled through her drawer and pulled out her makeup, working on her eyes. I saw Tenten move out of the corner of my eye and shot across the room, grabbing her arm and pulling her back on the bed. She fought back, shaking her head at me and mouthing something that looked suspiciously like 'hide me'.

The curtain opened and we all stopped moving. I pretended to be checking on Tenten's arm, she pretended to be interested. And Ino... wait a second, was she flirting with Hiashi? I know that smile! It was her come-hither look!

Hiashi paused for a moment and glanced over at Tenten, giving her a brief nod of the head. She looked a bit sheepish but managed a smile back. He turned to Ino who continued the smile and added a blush. He quirked an eyebrow and turned to me.

"Thank you, Haruno-sensei, I will return once I've spoken with the Hokage to take Hinata home."

Yeah, good luck with that, I thought. But on the outside, I smiled and bowed and wished them all the most super pleasant morning possible. Well maybe not in those words, but definitely with that attitude. Eesh, Lee-san was starting to rub off on me.

As soon as they were clear, I whipped around and faced Ino. "Were you just flirting?"

Ino shrugged. "What? It's like Neji... but, like, thirty years later. You can't deny he's old guy hot."

My jaw dropped, Tenten blinked and then looked over at Hinata. She grimaced. "Ah... I think you broke Hinata, Ino." I looked over and it was true. Hinata was staring at Ino with a mixture of horror and disbelief.

"Oh come on, it was just a smile. It's not like I can't flirt with..."

"Flirt with who?"

"DADDY!" Ino cried, switching from normal to adorable in two seconds flat.

"BABY GIRL!" Inoichi replied, enveloping her in a hug. He looked like he had just gotten back from his mission; his uniform was dirty but his hair was still perfect. Behind him were Shikaku and Chouza, arms full of flowers. They both looked over and greeted Ino before depositing the flowers around her bed.

"They're beautiful!"

"I picked them for you on the way back!"

Chouza looked over at Shikaku who was bending backwards, trying to work out a kink in his back. Inoichi may have picked them but it was clear who had carried them. Their dynamic was exactly like Ino's team.

"So, Sakura-chan," Inoichi said, turning to me. "Is my baby giving you any trouble?"

I put on my best smile. "Of course not, sir. She's just... perfect!"

Inoichi laughed. "You're a good liar," he said, patting me on the head. "Wow, you grew up while I wasn't looking."

I twirled a strand of pink hair in my fingers and blushed. "Not that much..."

"No, you've grown from being cute to being quite pretty."

I giggled and waved him off. He laughed and kissed Ino once before taking his teammates out the door, promising her they'd be back tomorrow. Ino shouted out how much she loved him and then turned on me with angry eyes.

"Were you just flirting with my dad?" she demanded.

I stuck out my tongue at her. "He's old guy hot."

"THAT'S MY DAD!"

"You... you flirted with my father!" Hinata squeaked, suddenly come back to her senses.

Neji had taken two steps into the room at that point and came to a dead stop. He looked immensely confused and ready to backpedal out of what clearly was something he never, never wanted to hear. Ino and I lunged at the same time, grabbing an arm each before he could get away.

"HI, NEJI!" we cried in unison, dragging him towards Tenten's bed. He was forced to take a seat before we let go, stepping back with our arms linked and staring at them dreamily. EVERYONE knew the story. The last desperate attack, the valiant run to save her. It was like a fairy tale come true! And we were going to watch the happily ever after.

Or we would have if he hadn't have pulled the curtain around so we couldn't see. We knelt down on the ground and strained to hear. There was nothing!

Ino looked over to Hinata and pointed to her eyes, motioning to open them. I nodded vigorously and did the same motion which just confused Hinata. At the same time Ino and I mouthed BYAKUGAN but as soon as we did we heard Tenten call out.

"Don't even think about it."

Ino frowned and looked around, trying to find another way to eavesdrop. She picked up a glass and held it to the curtain. I smacked my forehead.

The curtain opened and Neji appeared, uttering a polite good evening before exiting the room. I looked up at Tenten and found her blushing still ever so slightly. Ino immediately jumped on her bed.

"DETAILS!" she demanded, jumping up and down. I joined her shortly and we both were kneeling on Tenten's bed, bouncing around like idiots while singing our refrain.

"AH! STOP!" she cried, putting her hands over her ears.

"Fill. Us. In." Ino demanded.

"No!"

"Tenten-chan," I whined. "Come on. We don't have a love life. We need to live vicariously through you!"

"Yeah!" Ino replied. "Forehead doesn't have a love life. So spill!"

"I'm not the type to kiss and tell," Tenten stated.

"AH! THERE WAS KISSING" Ino squealed.

"There was not!" Tenten protested. "Not in a hospital. How would that be romantic at all?"

"Hey!" I said. This was my hospital and it was plenty romantic once you got past the bed pans, the blood and... okay maybe she had a point.

"I DEMAND to be invited to the wedding. In fact, I think I should be maid of honor for getting you two to hook up," Ino stated.

At that, Tenten did what any normal, sane person would do. She reached around, grabbed her pillow and hit us with it.

Ino shrieked with indignation and turned to Hinata. "Hina-chan. Arm me."

Hinata smiled and tossed a pillow to her before jumping off the bed and coming towards us, her hand clutching a second pillow. Ino hit Tenten, Tenten hit me and Hinata got a good shot on Ino. In a second, chaos completely reigned and the hospital room was an explosion of feathers.

"Ahem."

We all jumped to attention. Ino hit me with the pillow once more, though, just because she always had to win.

Shishou stood at the door, arms crossed against her chest. Behind her the nurses had all bustled back to work, looking as if they had been doing that all day.

"I see everyone is feeling better," she said. "Sakura, if you have a moment."

I pulled feathers from my hair as I quickly went over to where shishou was waiting for me. She rolled her eyes and plucked a feather from my shirt. "So... I see _they _are real trouble."

I looked at her sheepishly and followed as she led me away from the ward towards her office.

"Thank you to for sending Hiashi my way," she continued.

"I'm sure you had a pleasant discussion." She snorted and smiled at that.

The hospital office was not nearly as grand as the Hokage's office but I think shishou preferred it in some ways. It reminded her of the good old days of being a simple medic. And it contained a stash of alcohol that Shizune hadn't found yet. Shishou pulled out two cups and poured them. I got the message and sat down. We were going to have a serious talk. And I had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"I didn't put the Ruby order on Sasuke," she said.

I nodded. "I know. You promised you wouldn't."

She looked at me as if she wanted to say more. I know she worried about me. That I was still clinging to the past.

"I don't know who did," she added. I looked up at her surprised. "And it makes me realize... I don't know who to trust anymore."

"You can trust me," I said firmly. "You can trust my team."

She smiled and nodded. "I know. But this is a lot to ask. If someone somehow manipulated the council enough to fake a Ruby order..."

I looked at her with continued determination. I believed in my team, that we could complete any task that was given to us. Even this. "Shishou. I promise we will find out who did this." I held the cup up. She looked at it for a moment before clinking it with her own. We both drank the sake down, the best way we knew how to seal an agreement.

Shishou poured another cup. "Are you... okay, then?" she asked.

I shrugged and nodded, taking the cup in my hand. "He didn't cause anyone to get killed," I said. "I guess that's..." Something? Ugh, that sounded so pathetic. Hey, the guy I love... er loved, is usually way more homicidal then this.

"Did you find anything in the book?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet but..." Shishou finished her cup and put it down. She stood up, leaving the bottle on her desk.

"They found Uchiha Itachi's body last week," she said as she left.

I didn't move. I didn't breathe. The cup in my hand clattered to the ground. It took me almost half an hour to stop shaking.

I woke up the next morning being vigorously shaken by Shizune. I didn't even remember falling asleep.

"Really, Sakura... I hope you don't pick up any more of her bad habits," Shizune chastised, pointing to the empty sake bottle.

"Oh..." I said, not really remembering how I had managed to take that much down. Odd, I didn't feel bad at all. I eyed the bottle and saw a familiar shade of red. That wasn't my lipstick at all. Shishou must have snuck in after I fell asleep and finished it herself!

"Sakura," Shizune said, standing in front of me with a serious face. "Please, please, for the sake of this hospital, discharge your team."

I cringed and went outside to get a look at the damage.

For once, everyone was extremely diligent with their paperwork. And so, by mid-afternoon, everyone was standing outside heading home.

"Seven o'clock on the dot!" Ino demanded. "Don't even think of not showing up well dressed and ready to party. I will come find you."

Tenten waved her bandaged arm as she wandered off with Hinata. I sighed. Only Ino would demand a victory party for getting out of the hospital. I followed her as she headed home. She barely limped but I could occasionally see the strain as she moved.

"Ino..." I started. It was the first time we were alone. I wanted to apologize. For not answering her call. When I showed up for ice cream and she wasn't there and then I got the alert... it's not something I ever wanted to relive.

"It's fine," she said, waving off my concerns. "I should have backed you up at the debriefing."

"I guess," I replied.

She came to a full stop. "Look. Are you okay? I mean, first the opera and now here."

I nodded. "Yeah, I mean... I think so. I just... if anything had happened to..."

"It didn't," she interrupted. "And honestly... that creepy guy could have killed us all." She frowned. "I guess Sasuke is a bit less homicidal then before."

I giggled and enveloped her in a hug. "Thanks Ino. You're the best."

"I know," she sighed, hugging me back. "Oooh, you're squishy!"

"I'M NOT SQUISHY, PIG!"

Ino ran off and I followed her. We spent the rest of the afternoon digging through her closet for clothes. She called everyone she could think of, making them promise to be there with bells on. She made me wear a green dress that was way, way too short. Until I saw the black number she tried on.

"Come on, we're going to be late," she said, climbing out her bedroom window.

"Why don't we just go downstairs?" I asked, not looking forward to trying to climb down a tree in high heels.

"Duh, like I would let my dad see me in this," she replied before disappearing.

The place Ino picked was nice. There were a couple of bars, a lot of seating and music played at just the right volume. Ino left me quickly and started to mingle. I found Naruto standing at the bar waving his arms around. Hinata was sitting close by looking positively adorable in her lilac dress. I didn't think the blush on her cheeks was due to any makeup.

"And then Hina-chan was like BAM!" Naruto exclaimed, waving his arms around wildly. "It was incredible. I couldn't even keep track of what she was doing. And then WHAM the book opens. It was the coolest thing I've seen."

I stood next to Hinata and gave her hand a squeeze. She looked up at me and smiled. "Hey, Naruto," I called out. "Tell it again!"

He was happy to comply.

I was glad Ino had suggested this. We could all use a night out. Ino was surrounded by a horde of people on the dance floor. Tenten was attempting to laugh off whatever embarrassing thing a bunch of heart-eyed girls had told her and Neji. I was going to enjoy myself tonight. I was not going to think about Sasuke and the implication about what shishou had told me. I was not going to worry about how we would find who had issued the Ruby order. I was going to have one evening of fun before things got serious again.

Ino pulled Tenten to the dance floor, stumbling a bit as she did. I didn't even want to know how much she had had to drink already. I took Hinata by the hand andlead her to where half of our team was already dancing.. Ino squealed and hugged Hinata before handing her a drink that someone had just bought her.

And we danced and danced and danced until the sun came up.


	14. Ino: Inebriation

You know, considering all the crazy jutsu most ninja are capable of, it seems odd that no one has ever perfected something as simple as a hangover cure. Ugh, I felt like crap. I was going to blame Hina-chan for this. Who knew the little Hyuuga heiress could keep up with the rest of us? I assumed she'd be done after like, two drinks. But if I wanted her inhibitions lowered enough so that she'd confess to Naruto, I had to keep ordering the drinks.

I wondered how the plan went. I didn't really remember anything past the fifth round.

I rolled on my side and snuggled in the sheet. Odd... these didn't feel like the ones I was used to. I looked down and saw a plaid pattern that no woman in her right mind would ever use on her bed.

...

_Oh crap._

I pulled up the sheet and looked down.

If I had been smart like Forehead, calm like Hina-chan or by-the-book like Tenten, I probably would have taken a second to consider the next course of action. Instead, I did what any normal girl would do when she woke up naked in some unknown guy's bed.

I panicked.

With a horrified scream, I clutched the sheet next to me and Shunshin no Jutsu-ed myself out of there. It took like five consecutive jumps before I felt safe enough. Of course, by then I had no idea where I had just come from. I still had the sheet around me but that was the only thing between me and full embarrassment. I needed cover fast before anyone saw me so I teleported again until I was on the roof of my own house, breathing heavily as my heart pounded in my chest. The sheet was clutched to my chest as I quickly climbed down into my room.

I started rummaging through my closets, throwing on the most comfortable shirt and sweat pants I could find. My tangled hair went up in a ponytail and I splashed water on my face to try to wake up.

Okay, okay. This was bad. Very bad.

The door opened and daddy walked in.

"Good morning, princess!" he smiled. "I wanted to know if my baby girl wanted breakfast." He held up a plate of eggs and sausage and my stomach lurched. I shook my head quickly.

"But this is your favorite," he continued. He took a good look at me. "Are you sick? You look... wait, are you HUNG OVER?"

I grabbed the plate and shoved the food in my mouth as quickly as possible. "Nope, totally fine," I said between bites. "Have to run out. Training."

"Ah... okay," he said, not entirely convinced. "Ibiki-san was here earlier. We've been discussing possible training options for..."

"Oh, that's great, daddy," I said, forcing my stomach to behave. "I can't wait to, like, torture and interrogate people."

Like the son of a bitch that took advantage of me last night.

"But right now," I said, handing him back the plate. "I really need to go." He made me promise to talk about it later on and I nodded before running out the door.

As I walked down the street, my mind was desperately trying to sort through the limited memories of last night. There was dancing. And drinking. And more of the same. But beyond that it was a complete blank.

"Hey, blondie."

I came to a stop and looked over my shoulder. Sauntering down the street was none other than Kankuro. I glared, still not forgiving him for the kiss incident in Suna. He's lucky he came out of that with only a broken leg.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, hands on my hips.

He smiled, leered really. "You don't remember?" he asked. "We came in last night and joined your party."

I felt the color drain from my face. No. No way. There was not enough alcohol in the world that would make me even consider LOOKING his way, let alone... My stomach clenched and I wobbled.

"Woah," he said, reaching forward to steady me. "Still a bit tipsy, eh?"

I grabbed his shoulder. I had to ask him straight out. There was no other way. Though if his answer was what I was afraid it would be... I didn't care if it would cause an international incident. I'd kill him on the spot.

"What... what did we do last night?" I asked.

He smiled. "We danced. We drank. And you... promised me a date."

I laughed. Laughed right out loud. "A date?"

He looked a bit hurt at that. "Yeah."

"That's it?"

He flustered and stepped away from me. "Why? Thinking of backing out?"

I laughed again, completely relieved. "No, no. I owe you a date. That's totally acceptable."

He smiled and pulled me close. "So... can we just skip the date and go right to the..."

I stomped on his foot. Hard. My gratefulness would only go so far. I glared at him, making sure he understood I was not that type of girl. At least... I really hoped I wasn't that type of girl.

"Okay, okay," he said, hopping away. "Then we'll just have to do dinner first. Tomorrow. 7pm. I'll pick you up."

I wanted to shout how there was no way in hell that would happen but... ugh! I hated breaking my word. And it was just one date. It wasn't like it was the end of the world. Hmm, I wonder if I could convince the Hokage that it was a diplomatic mission. If I was really lucky, I could convince her it should be an assassination mission.

Kankuro stopping my wild charge through Konoha had actually been a good thing. I had a chance now to stop and think. I wasn't approaching this logically at all. I shouldn't be asking guys what happened. I needed to go to my female friends and get the word from them. It also had the added benefit that when I broke down, completely mortified, they'd be there to comfort me.

Forehead was out. She'd never let me live this down if she knew. Tenten was probably with Neji, at least she better be. That left Hinata. I changed direction and headed towards the Hyuuga compound. The guards at the front door told me that she was still sleeping but I managed to convince them it was in their best interest to let me through anyway. Okay, so maybe I lied and said we had an urgent mission request but it wasn't far from the truth. Finding out what happened last night was, like, an S-ranked mission.

I opened the door to Hinata's room and found her still in a tangle of sheets. I was about to wake her up when I realized she wasn't alone. I smiled evilly. So maybe something good had come out of all of this. Considering the way the bed looked, whoever was there was just as tangled in Hinata as the sheets were. I suppose I could have been nice, but curiosity got the best of me and I pulled the sheet off.

"AH HA!" I cried. "What the hell?" I continued, looking down at the duo on the futon.

Tenten cracked open an eye and looked at me. "Ino... what's going on?"

"YOU'RE WITH THE WRONG HYUUGA!" I yelled, kicking her in the butt. A kunai slashed at my foot but ended up in the floor instead of my flesh.

"Please... Ino-san..." Hinata said softly, waking up as well. "Not so loud."

I collapsed on the floor and they started to sit up. "Yeah, what's the big deal anyway?" Tenten asked.

"Why are you here?" I demanded, poking Tenten in the chest.

She let out a large yawn. "It was late so I just decided to crash."

"Yes but why are you in Hinata's bed and not Neji's?"

Tenten blushed deeply and looked mortified. "I can think of a dozen reasons but mostly it's because I could barely stand last night, thanks to you!"

Hinata nodded once before deciding moving her head was a bad idea. "Ow... what time is it?"

Tenten's eyes shot open and she looked at the clock. "Oh crap, I'm late for training."

As she hurried around, getting ready, I looked at Hinata. "Hinata," I said seriously, trying to ignore how perfect her hair looked. Who woke up with hair that great, especially after that much partying? No, I had bigger things to worry about then Hyuuga hair care. "Do you remember what happened last night?"

Hinata paused for a moment. "Well... we danced. A lot. And you kept ordering things to drink and then..." She looked up at me, going completely pale.

"AND?" I demanded. Even Tenten stopped running around to see what had caused Hinata such distress.

"And... and... I think I danced with Naruto-kun!" She turned bright red at that and suddenly fell back in the bed.

"Hinata!" Tenten cried, kneeling down next to the girl. "She passed out."

"That's just great," I frowned. "I mean it's great that she finally did something but I really needed her awake."

"Why? What did you need to ask?"

"I just..." I paused. Tenten was a nice girl but I didn't know if she would judge me or not for the mistake I made. "I..." I bit my lip and tried to remain calm. "I don't remember what happened last night!"

Tenten relaxed. "Oh. Is that all?"

"IS THAT ALL?" I cried. Didn't she understand?

"Well... you know, it's not like it's exactly a secret. I mean, you only asked out almost every single guy there."

I blinked. "Wait... what?"

Tenten sighed and sat back on the futon. "Well, first was Kiba, then Shino, Kankuro, Lee, Naruto and someone else..." she started ticking off people on her fingers. I watched with silent horror. I had asked out almost every guy we knew. And it's not like I could back out of it. First of all, it would be admitting to almost everyone that I couldn't handle my liquor. And more importantly, you don't just ask a guy out and then cancel it. A date with me is what every guy dreamed of. Canceling after asking was just cruel.

I shook my head. Okay, I was just going to have to deal with this later. Right now, I needed to know one thing. "Who did I go home with?"

Tenten taped her chin in thought. "I... I don't really know. We all sort of left at the same time, they were closing the bar down."

I threw up my hands in frustration before deciding on another tactic. "Who was the last person I was seen with?"

"Um... pretty sure it was Lee." She paused and looked at me with concern. "Can I ask you a huge favor?"

I frowned, knowing what was coming. "I'll keep my word. Even if I asked every person at that party last night on a date, I wouldn't ignore my responsibility today." Yes, that sounded mature. Seriously though, I'd go out with ever last person in Konoha if by some act of God I didn't do what I think I did last night.

She smiled. "Yeah, I figured you would. Just... give him a chance, okay? I know everyone assumes he's a bit um... well..."

"Crazy?"

Tenten cringed. "Yeah. But he's a nice guy. Just... excitable."

I sighed. "Fine." Then I started to think. And got perhaps my greatest idea ever. "We'll double."

"We'll what?"

"Double date. I'll take Lee and we'll meet you and Neji."

Tenten's brow scrunched up like she was trying to pick a reason why that wouldn't work. So I made sure she didn't have the chance to change her mind. "Great! I'll see you tomorrow..." No wait, that was Kankuro. "Screw it, we'll go tonight. 6pm in front of Ginza. I'll go tell Lee."

I ran out the door, just as Tenten started to protest. Like she'd actually back out. I knew exactly what she was thinking. She loved Lee like a brother and if him getting a date meant asking Orochimaru out, she'd probably do it. I quickly jumped to the roof of a nearby building and started to scan the horizon. Considering the time of day and Lee's training regime... there he was. I could see the dust cloud from here.

I waited for him to run close enough and then jumped down so I was in his path. Lee came a screeching halt in front of me. He stared at me. There's really nothing as unsettling as watching Rock Lee be completely silent. He wasn't even fidgeting.

"Hi, Lee," I said, trying to break the ice.

"...hi."

Okay, this was way too weird. "So... about our date."

"Oh." He smiled a bit. "You want to cancel."

"NO!" I yelled. Really, what type of person did people think I was? I know I could be a bit flighty and bitchy but I wasn't the type to just try to hurt people's feelings. Most of the time. "Didn't I say we were going out?"

"Yes, but..."

"So why wouldn't we go out?"

Lee tried to think of how to phrase the next part. "Well... Ino-san... I appreciate the offer, but my heart belongs to Sakura-chan."

Wait a minute. Was Lee, bushy eyebrowed and fashionably challenged Lee, turning me down? Me? The hottest kunoichi in Konoha. Oh, if this ever got out my social life would be ruined. I frowned and decided that there was only one thing left to do.

"Look, Lee," I said. "I know you like Fore... Sakura a lot. It's just... I thought we'd both be glad to do this for Tenten."

"Tenten?" Lee asked, full attention on me now.

"Yeah. I told her we would double with her and Neji so she wouldn't be so nervous asking him out."

Lee paused. And thought. And paced a bit. "I see. My eternal rival would likely want to bypass the entire dating process and just get married as he is always as efficient as possible. However, I can understand that a young girl like Tenten would much prefer a proper courtship first. One full of flowers and chocolates and shiny, pointy weapons." He came to a stop. "Yes, we must do this. We must provide them the most comfortable environment to pursue their romantic intentions. Thank you, Ino, you are a true friend for planning this."

"You better believe it," I said. "And who knows, maybe we'll make Sakura jealous if she hears we're going out."

"I would hate to hurt her in any way," Lee started, "but, perhaps, if it was for a good cause..."

I smiled at Lee before remembering my second reason for being here. "Um... Lee, you didn't happen to..." I trailed off looking at Lee. No. No way it could be him. Like he said, he was attached to Forehead. And if Konoha was still standing, then he hadn't been drinking last night with the rest of us. "To remember who I was talking to after I spoke to you?" I asked.

"Ah, of course. You spoke with Naruto after me."

"Great, thanks," I said, running off. "See you at Ginza tonight, 6pm sharp!"

I didn't bother to check Naruto's apartment first. At this time of day, there was only one place he would be. I wandered to the ramen shop and found him stirring a bowl of ramen slowly. The cook and the waitress were staring at him, faces full of worry.

"Naruto!" I said loudly, sitting next to him.

"Oh... hey, Ino," he said softly, idly stirring the broth. "You here for our 'date'?"

"No," I replied. "You'll have to take me out to a proper dinner."

He frowned. I tried to remain strong. If Naruto dumped me like Lee had tried to do, I'd have to seriously reconsider my entire philosophy of life. Or at least my wardrobe. I'd have to throw everything out and start from scratch and steal Hyuuga's hair products when they weren't looking.

"I don't think I'll be alive at dinner," he frowned.

"Oh come on, you can't have that bad a hangover."

"It's not that," he said, letting out a deep sigh. "It's just..." He dropped the spoon and started to look around nervously. "I... I danced with Hinata-chan."

I eyed him, trying not to get excited. "And?"

"I mean, it wasn't a big deal. You know, just holding hands, some twirls, but... she laughed, like she really liked it." He picked up the spoon and pushed some noodles, smiling a bit. "I don't think I've seen her that happy, you know. I mean, she was really cute."

I grabbed his arm, trying not to bop with anticipation in my seat. "AND?"

"And... and I think Neji's going to kill me for dancing with her. At least, that's what it looked like when I saw him watching last night." His head collapsed and he looked completely dejected. "So I won't be alive to go on a date with you."

"What?" I stood up straight. "Who are you?" I demanded, poking Naruto in the head. "Where's the real Naruto?"

"Huh?" he asked. "I'm... Naruto."

"No you're not! If you were the real Naruto, something as trivial as an overprotective cousin wouldn't stop you. Aren't you going to be the best ninja in Konoha?"

"Well... sure..."

"Aren't you going to be the Hokage?"

"Of course!" he said perking up a bit.

"Then, why are you being afraid now! If you want to ask Hina-chan out, why should Neji or ANYONE stop you?"

"You're RIGHT!" he said, jumping up and joining me. "I've beaten Neji in a fight once. If I want to ask Hinata-chan out... wait, I want to ask Hinata-chan out?"

I smacked my forehead. "Okay, let's review. You had fun last night dancing, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"And you thought she was cute?"

"Yeah... I mean, really cute."

"And you liked seeing her happy?"

"Definitely," he smiled.

"So..." I trailed off, hoping he would catch on.

"So... I should... um..."

My temper broke. Clueless was BEYOND Clueless. I took him by the jacket and shook him silly. "ASK HER OUT!"

"Ow!" he said. "Okay! Okay! I get it."

I sighed. "Now, you're not going to ask her out right away. You're going to take me to dinner toni... wait, tomorr... no, two days from now. And we're going to have a long talk about appropriate date etiquette and colors other then orange. Okay?"

"Yeah... YEAH! I can totally do this!" he said, suddenly feeling a lot better. "Thanks, Ino!"

"Thanks Ino what?" Sakura asked, suddenly joining the conversation.

"Nothing!" I said, quickly, not wanting Sakura to distract Naruto from his new goal. "Nothing at all. How are you doing?"

Sakura shrugged. "I'm fine, just tired."

"You're not hungover?" I asked, looking at her.

"Sakura-chan's got a great remedy for hangovers," Naruto chirped, suddenly stuffing himself full of ramen.

"Medic-nin and all," Forehead said. I glared at her. "What? I tried to give you something, too, but you weren't at home."

I paled as I suddenly remembered why I was here. I looked at Naruto. I couldn't ask him outright, not with Sakura standing right there. So I'd just have to fib. "Hey, Naruto, Lee said I was talking to you last night. You didn't find my earring, did you? It's a little gold hoop."

Naruto shook his head. "You should ask Kiba. You were talking to him after me."

"Thanks," I smiled. Okay, one more person to check with.

"Listen, Ino," Sakura said, her tone the serious one she uses for mission talk. "We need to have a group meeting."

"Not tonight, I have a date," I said happily.

"Yes, we all heard. Who are you taking out tonight? Kankuro?" she smiled, a bit too evilly.

"Nope. Lee." I watched her reaction. It was blank. She totally didn't expect me to go through with it! Maybe she was a bit jealous... "And Neji and Tenten. Should be fun!"

"The four of you are going out together?" Sakura asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"Yep! Anyway, we can meet tomorrow morning. Later!" I bounded off, leaving a somewhat confused Sakura behind.

I had no idea where Kiba would be. I had to ask at his house, the Hokage's tower and Kurenai's before finding out he was scheduled to train with Shino. I wandered on to the training ground, trying to see either Kiba or Shino but they weren't visible. Akamaru suddenly appeared from the brush and trotted over, happily licking my hand.

"Hey there," I said, patting him on the head. "Where's your master?"

"Right here," Kiba said, jumping down from the tree. A second later, Shino materialized out of nowhere. "So, what do you need? Here to rescind your offer of a date?"

I was going to have to do some serious PR after this. I was not liking the way most people thought I was going to react. "No, I just have a busy schedule and wanted to make sure you had free time. I'm thinking lunch. Are you free, tomorrow?"

Kiba looked at me and shrugged. "Yeah, sure." He pulled off his jacket, clearly overheating from training.

"And you're good two days from now?" I asked Shino. He seemed somewhat taken aback that I had even recognized him.

"I... suppose."

I frowned. He wasn't still upset about that little bug squishing incident a while back, was he? I'd just have to make it up to him with a fabulous date then.

Kiba stripped off his shirt, using it to wipe down his chest. "So, then, that was it?"

I stared. Kiba was... wow. Just... wow. I never thought that underneath all the layers he'd look that good. I forgot what I was supposed to say. I forgot my own name. Thankfully, Akamaru licked my hand and brought me back to the real world.

"Akamaru sure is friendly today," I said, glad for the distraction.

"It's probably because you smell like barbecue."

I blinked. "I what?"

Kiba looked at me like I was insane for not realizing it earlier. "You smell like barbecue."

I smiled. I laughed. "I smell like barbecue!" I said happily as all the pieces finally fell into place. "Thanks, Kiba!" I leaned forward and hugged Kiba tight before taking off.

I swung by my house and got the sheet that I had left there, folding it up tenderly before walking to the Akimichi house. Knocking on the door, I waited until someone opened it.

"Oh... hey, Ino," Chouji said, looking down at me. "You have my sheet."

"Yeah... sorry about that," I said sheepishly. "Forgot I had a gazillion things to do today and had to jet."

"No problem," he smiled, stepping aside so he could let me in. "So... sorry about last night. I know you said to take you home but it was just easier to come here. And you know how your dad is."

I smiled and waved him off. Chouji was worried for nothing. I trusted him completely. There was no way he would have done anything to me. That's why I always made him promise to keep me in line. "It's fine! Seriously, you're the best friend a girl could have." He smiled broadly at that.

I filled him in on the day's events, leaving out the reasons why I was running all over Konoha. He laughed and shook his head as I told him about my busy calendar. "And so then Kiba takes off his shirt and... did you know Kiba was really hot?"

Chouji shook his head. "I can say I have never thought of him like that."

I rolled my eyes. "Well yeah. But anyway... maybe I lucked out. I can help Lee, Tenten and Naruto, finally apologize to Shino and maybe hit it off with Kiba." I paused. "You know, Tenten mentioned there was someone else but she couldn't remember who it was." I frowned. "Do you remember?"

He looked at me and sighed, shaking his head. "No, sorry, I was too busy trying to get you home."

"That's too bad. Everyone assumed I was going to back out so I wouldn't want him to think so too."

"I'm sure he knows you're busy."

"It's not the point," I pouted. "I don't like making people unhappy."

"I doubt you could ever make him unhappy."

"Huh?" I asked, looking at him.

"Ino-chan," Chouza said, wandering down the hall. "I thought I heard you. Here, the wife said to give you these back."

I took the cleaned clothes from his hand, noting that it was my ensemble from last night. How sweet. They had washed my clothes.

...

Wait a second.

"Chouji..." I started.

"So dad, ready to train?" he asked, suddenly putting his father between himself and me.

"CHOUJI!" I yelled. "Why was I NAKED?"

Chouza cringed. "I... really don't need to be involved..."

"CHOUJI!"

"It's not my fault!" He yelled. "You're the one who said it was hot and then took everything off."

Chouza sighed. "She's exactly like Inoichi. I'll hold her off, you run."

"CHOUJI! WHAT DID YOU SEE!"


	15. Tenten: Trepidation

"We should go on a date."

There was dead silence around the training grounds. I stood there, twirling a kunai as if I had just casually asked about the weather. Neji looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. But I held my ground because this was important.

In the days since the 'incident', we hadn't had much of a chance to talk. I didn't wake up until Hinata had joined Ino and me in the room. And then there were these mortifying moments where the Hyuuga elders had stood gathered around her bed, listening to Sakura talking and secretively stealing glances at me.

I didn't even know what to say. Oh, sorry for almost getting your best and brightest blown to smithereens. My bad that he followed me out there and that we decided to have a revelation a few seconds from death.

And it wasn't like Neji could come in when they were there. So our first chance had come when all four of the Sakura brigade were in the same room. I love Ino and Sakura, but when they shoved him at me and then tried to watch… I almost killed them right there.

Of course, leave it to Neji to just take all of this in stride. He closed the curtain and sat on the bed like this was a normal occurrence.

I opened my mouth to talk and he pointed to the shadows on the ground. I rolled my eyes. Really guys? I can't get a second of privacy?

_They're asking my cousin to use Byakugan_, he signed to me.

"Don't even think about it," I called out before signing that I was sorry.

_Are you okay? _

We managed to do that at the same time. And then we just stared at each other waiting for the other to answer. Right about then, Ino tried to find a way to peek and I was more concerned with how to throttle her then how to answer that question.

So Neji put his hand on mine and signed with the other that we'd talk later. I nodded once and he gave my hand the briefest of squeezes before running off.

It didn't help that Ino decided to force us all out dancing as soon as soon as we were cleared by medical. There is no way to have an intimate conversation in the middle of a dance club. Especially when half the Konoha female population is asking you the most inane questions ever.

Are you going out? Are you getting married? Was it scary? Was it romantic?

No matter what I said, they decided that not only were Neji and I the most perfect couple ever but that this was the most romantic thing that had ever happened. I was almost glad when I got dragged to the dance floor. Not so much so when I kept getting drinks shoved at me.

Let's just say I got carried home that night. It probably was nice but I don't remember any of it.

In fact, this was the first time that we were together. Alone. And so I decided to go for the direct approach. Which was clearly working so well, seeing as Neji was just staring at me with that amused smirk of his.

"I just assumed we'd get married," he replied. For a moment I thought he was joking before I realized that his tone was actually dead serious.

"No!" I cried. "We can't… that's not… That's not how it works!"

"It's not?" he asked. "How does it 'work' then?"

I frowned and started sifting through years of shoujo manga and conversations with the girls. "We date for a while and…"

"And get to know each other?"

I pouted. So… okay maybe we knew each other pretty well considering we were teammates for years. "Well… okay but… then we need to get to know each other's family…"

"Who don't you know in mine?"

I stomped my foot. "That's not the point!"

He was almost smiling at this point, the smug bastard. And it was bad enough that I knew his logic was infallible but there was no good reason he should look that cute when mocking me.

I was about to come up with another reason when I felt a familiar chakra signature barreling towards us. I sighed and sat on a nearby stump, twirling my kunai. Lee appeared a few seconds later, out of breath and clearly happy.

"Have you asked him yet?" he asked me.

I shook my head in defeat. Apparently Ino had already gotten to him. "I was trying to," I replied with a frown.

That seemed to electrify Lee. He turned to Neji, arm outstretched and pointing at him. "Hyuuga Neji! Eternal Rival! I, Rock Lee, the Green Beast of Konoha, have beaten you!"

Neji didn't seem too flustered by that. "Have you now?"

"I have," Lee said, with a sparkling smile. "I, my youthful opponent, am the first member of our team to have been asked out on a date and accepted."

… oh good Lord.

"What?" Neji asked, eyeing Lee suspiciously.

"It is true. The lovely Ino Yamanaka and I will be dining at Ginza tonight. I had been hoping that you and Tenten would join us, however…"

"You didn't win," Neji interrupted. "We were just finalizing details."

I glared at him. Oh sure, when it was a competition…

"But you had not accepted yet. And so, I win."

Really? Were they really going to fight it out over this? Neji wouldn't fall for something like this, would he?

I looked over and noticed that he no longer looked amused. In fact he looked annoyed.

"As a prize, I will be borrowing Tenten," Lee said. "I need to learn everything I can about Yamanaka-san before dinner tonight as I plan on making this first date perfect." He winked at me. Was he trying to bait Neji?

I tried to interrupt things before it came to blows. "Lee, we were kind of in the middle…"

"To the flower shop!" he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me away. I managed to shoot Neji an apologetic look before we headed back towards town.

"Lee, I can't believe you did that!" I said, as soon as we were clear. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that Neji-kun would likely try to bypass all the fun parts of a relationship," Lee replied. "Besides, right now, he is thinking of how to defeat me by making his date with you better then mine."

I giggled and hugged Lee. "You're the best," I said.

"I am. But I will not be losing to him so… I am sorry you will not have as good a date as Yamanaka-san."

I decided not to argue that point with him. I was too amused pondering exactly how Neji would go about making sure this was a perfect date for me. He was a genius after all, I'm sure he could figure something out.

"So I will need to discover the following things about Yamanaka-san," Lee said. "Her favorite color, food dish, animal, and music."

I laughed. "Oh, is that all?"

"It is a start," Lee continued, pulling out a scroll. I glanced at the long, long, long list of items that needed to be filled out. And then I got a good look at the title of the scroll.

_Gai-Sensei's Patented Dating Checklist for the Most Super Awesome First Date EVER_.

"Lee," I said, trying to ignore the shudder in my spine. "You know that the Yamanakas own the flower shop you're heading towards, right? Are you just going to ask Ino these questions? Because then you really don't need me."

"She is not there," Lee replied. "She is currently training with her teammates. However her parents will be minding the shop and I need to ask permission from them."

I blinked. That was... that was actually very surprising. Most people didn't seek parental permission before going out these days. It was old fashioned and actually kind of sweet. Well, Neji got a pass on that considering that my family didn't live in Konoha, but I had to wonder if he would have done the same if he had the chance.

"So why do you need me?" I asked.

"Two things. In case Yamanaka returns early, you will need to distract her. And... her father is apparently very protective. So I may require backup."

Ah, now that made sense. Yamanaka Inoichi did work in torture and interrogation, that was scary enough. But it was also rumored he was incredibly overprotective of his daughter. I followed Lee into the shop and the woman behind the counter greeted us warmly. There was no doubt that this was Ino's mother who, in contrast to her husband, seemed reserved and quiet.

"Good afternoon," Lee said, bowing deeply, "my name is Rock Lee and I am here to ask permission to escort your daughter, Ino, to dinner tonight."

The woman blinked in surprise. And then cringed. I wondered what would cause that reaction for about a millisecond before I heard Inoichi's charge. He entered the shop in a rage and glared at Lee. To his credit, Lee didn't budge. Just remained bowed.

"WHO? WHAT? YOU?" Inoichi said pointing at Lee. Staring into the fury that was Ino's father, I could only come to the conclusion that Lee was about to die. Painfully.

"Good afternoon, sir," Lee said. "I am humbly requesting your permission to escort your daughter to dinner."

"WHEN?"

"Tonight at six PM, sir."

"WHERE?"

"Ginza Restaurant."

"WHY?"

"Sir," he said, standing up straight and looking Inoichi in the eye, "I am honored to have the chance to spend time with such a glorious and beautiful young lady, a true flower of Konoha. I can only hope that my humble attempts to entertain her will give her a reason to smile. I only hope to gain your permission for a few hours of her time. I will return her promptly at 9pm and we will at all times be accompanied by my teammates, including the young lady beside me." He smiled and his teeth twinkled.

I looked at Inoichi and gave a pathetic wave to indicate that that was me.

Inoichi was raring for another verbal assault when his wife put her hand on his arm. "Lee-san, that is an absolutely lovely request. I'm sure Ino will have a wonderful time."

"But... but..." Inoichi sputtered, turning to his wife. Ino's mother locked eyes with him and I saw, for the briefest moment an exponentially larger amount of rage and anger than Inoichi had produced earlier.

"If you continue to stop all chances of me having grandchildren," she said, her tone as commanding as the Hokage herself, "you will spend the rest of your life sleeping on that tiny couch in the living room."

Inoichi deflated. And glared at Lee but said nothing else.

"Thank you ma'am," Lee replied with a bow. "I would also like to purchase some flowers, enough for two bouquets please. One should contains hibicus, yellow jasmine and violets. The other bluebells, day lillies and pink lilacs."

Ino's mother kicked Inoichi in the shin so he would start moving. "What a lovely assortment. Do you know the meaning of those flowers?"

"Of course," Lee replied. "The first is to celebrate your daughter's pure beauty." Her mother smiled as she took the flowers from her husband and wrapped the first bouquet in paper with a bow.

"And the second?"

"Well, the second is to celebrate another woman, whose beauty and wisdom should be recognized."

Ino's mother smiled, finishing the second bouquet and accepting money for them. "I'm sure both bouquets will be well received."

"I hope so," he said. He took both bouquets and quickly held out the second for Ino's mother to take. "Please accept this bouquet with my humble thanks."

Ino's mother blinked in surprise and then took the second batch of flowers with a blush on her cheeks. "Well... my... thank you. It's been ages since I received flowers." The last statement was obviously leveled at the blond-haired man who was trying to hide in the corner.

We left the shop and I had to say I was impressed. And a bit worried. Lee was a master at this whole dating thing.

"Lee, how did you... where did you learn..." I trailed off in confusion.

"Gai-sensei has been passing his knowledge of dating and women on to me," he said. "I can only hope I am doing him proud."

I tried to reconcile the fact that Gai-sensei, MY Gai-sensei, was the source of such wisdom and failed. It just didn't seem to fit him at all. But then... I can't say I knew what he did in his free time. Was Gai-sensei the secret casanova of Konoha? No. He couldn't be. Right?

Lee continued to quiz me on everything I knew about Ino before he decided to move on to someone else. I felt drained by the whole experience. It was only three in the afternoon so I collapsed on park bench to try to relax. I tilted my head and enjoyed the sunlight on my face. It was a beautiful day, peaceful and quiet. I knew how rare these days could be in my line of work, so I just wanted to enjoy it while I could.

I don't remember dozing off but when I woke up, I was't alone. I looked over and saw Neji sitting next to me, scroll in his hand. I laughed.

"You talked to Gai-sensei," I said. And then I felt a bit bad about laughing. Aside from his uncle, who was still somewhat of a stranger to him, Neji didn't have many potential father figures in his life aside from our sensei. It must have taken a lot of him to not only ask for help, but to ask from Gai-sensei...

"Did the lecture just end?" I asked, sitting up properly on the bench.

"That man is... incredibly long winded," Neji said. "And incredibly smart." He looked about as comfortable with the idea of our sensei being a ladies' man as I did.

Neji opened up the scroll and eyed the list of items. "What... is your favorite color?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

He snapped the scroll shut. "It's infuriating. I assumed we knew each other well enough to be past this, but then I realized I don't know your favorite color. Or food. Or animal."

"If it's any consolation, I don't know either," I replied. "Your favorites, that is. It's not something that comes up in mission briefings."

"It doesn't matter," he replied. "It should be something I know. It's a simple thing and I don't understand how I never took the time to think about it."

"It's white," I said, softly. "And chocolate, any form. And a panda. And the rest of the items on that list... okay, we'll go through it and learn them. It might take time but that's the point of a..." I trailed off. I couldn't just say relationship. I mean, that was assuming a lot.

"Do we have time?" he asked, looking at my arm that had only recently been bandaged. I put my hand on the wound and dipped my head a bit.

I couldn't promise what I couldn't deliver. I couldn't make an oath to never use that jutsu again. I couldn't say that I would be here tomorrow or the next day and neither could he. It was just the nature of our lives.

"We have as much time as we are given," I replied. "So... we should make the best use of it, right? Favorite color?" I asked him.

He looked at me, almost as if he was going to try to argue the point. But my logic could be just as infallible as his. "Gray," he replied.

We only got to cover a few more items before I had to go. I had a date to get ready for, after all! As I searched my closet, wrapped in a towel and dripping on the floor, I pulled out the silver dress I had gotten a year ago. I never had a chance to wear it before but tonight seemed like a good occasion for it. I had matching shoes, some garnet jewelery my mom sent for my birthday and a cute purse too. Ino would be proud. I dried my hair and looked at myself in the mirror. I started to pull my hair up before I stopped and decided to wear it down.

At exactly 5:45pm, there was a knock on my door. I stared in the mirror for a few seconds more, straightening the dress and feeling generally foolish. This was just a date. Okay, it was a date with Neji but... it was Neji! Come on, you can do this.

I opened the door and was greeted with an interesting sight. Hyuuga Neji, not in training clothes but in a rather nice evening ensemble. White shirt, black pants and hair brushed straight. He held a bouquet of flowers and I had to smile when I saw that they were hibicus, yellow jasmine and violets, just like Lee's.

"So are those for me?" I asked when he didn't say anything. He was... staring. It was kind of unnerving, even more so than being thoroughly examined by Byakugan. "Neji?" I asked.

He blinked and regained his compsure. "Yes. They are. You look... very nice."

I gave him a strange look before taking the flowers from him and bringing them inside. "I'll just put them in water," I said, finding a vase and arranging them in it. I put the vase on the coffee table so it would greet me when I came in the front door. I made sure to lock the sturdy wooden door and we started to walk to Ginza. In silence. Not the normal, comfortable silence I was used to but with a bit of awkwardness mixed in. I was almost happy to see Lee and Ino waiting for us. Lee was wearing a dark purple shirt and black pants. He looked... well, he was exceptionally handsome this night.

Ino was wearing a green dress and blushing madly. She looked like she was actually enjoying herself. We got a nice seat in the back, right on the water. Lee and Ino were having an animated discussion on the meaning of flowers, leaving Neji and I to just watch them. I caught him looking at me but every time I tried to catch his eye, he looked away. After awhile, I decided to go for the more direct approach.

_They sure talk a lot,_ I signed under the table, making sure he saw the movement of my hands but that it was hidden from the others.

He smirked. _She could give sensei a run for his money._

I laughed and pretended it was at something that Lee had said. He looked at me and smirked... no, he smiled. Just a bit, but it was there.

_Favorite book_, he signed.

We eventually had to leave, only because Lee insisted on getting Ino home on time. As they waved goodbye, I shot Ino a thankful look. She winked at me before taking Lee's arm and heading home.

I looked up at the night sky, watching the stars for a bit as we walked. "That was nice," I said.

"It was. Though next time... perhaps we should do something alone."

I laughed, not just at the fact that he was making a joke but that he said 'next time'. Because it was ludicrious, impossible to believe that not too long ago I had been dying in a forest and now I was here. On a date. With Hyuuga Neji. Planning for a second one.

We got to my house too quickly. I reached for my keys, ready to say goodnight, when he took a step closer. And then he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me a step closer. My heart started to beat wildly. My skin became flushed. And for a moment the world seemed to slow down.

I realized the danger a second before it hit us. Neji managed to pull us back so the huge ax missed us and impacted in my door. The blade took up the entire length of it, splintering it on impact. I stared at it, stared at the intricate engravings on the steel. The complex carving on the handle...

Oh shit.

Neji was reaching for a kunai and activating Byakugan and I needed to warn him. I needed to think of how to relay to him the danger as quickly as possible.

"Neji," I said, trying to keep my voice steady but the words came out so softly.

"Flank right, I'll determine their position and then..."

"NEJI!" I interrupted, finding my voice. He looked at me.

"What?"

"That's my father's ax."

I didn't think Hyuuga could get any paler then they normally were. But Neji was pulling it off somehow.

"Oh," he managed, Byakugan receding. "I... should..."

"Just run," I advised.

"TENTEN!"

Neji disappeared in a plume of smoke. A moment later, all four feet, seven inches of my father came into the focus. He was charging, face red in sharp contrast to his graying hair. His weathered hands reached out and pulled the ax free of what was left of my door.

"Hi, Dad," I said, with a smile.

"Don't dad me!" he yelled, hefting the ax on his shoulder like it was a feather duster. "Where is he? I'm going to skin him alive and make armor from his bones!"

I cringed. Some things never changed. "Dad, calm down please..."

"Who the hell does he think he is? Just groping you in public..."

I turned bright red. "That wasn't groping!"

"And what is wrong with you, girl? You should have dodged my ax earlier than that imbecile did. ...ARE YOU PREGNANT?"

There was a momumental headache forming at the moment. Thankfully, my mother arrived just in time. In contrast to my father, she was about my height and far more delicate then either of us in build. Her hair was pooled into two identical buns on her head and she put a hand on my dad's shoulder.

"Now now, dear, you know your daughter is far more responsible than that. She was just caught up in the moment with that nice young man."

"NICE? He was... he was..."

My mother leaned down and planted a kiss on my father's forehead. "I know, dear, but why don't we go inside and have some nice tea to calm down."

Even though he didn't completely return to calm, my father did reduce his yelling to muttering and stomped inside the house. I turned to my mother with panic in my eyes.

"Why are you here?" I asked

"Nice to see you too," she replied. "And you should know it's time to renegotiate the arms deal with Konoha."

"Yes, but you usually send someone else."

"Well, we heard about the injury you received and I thought it would be nice to come down ourselves."

"Why didn't you call ahead?"

There was only so long I could get away with the attitude I had. Instantly, my mother looked hurt. "I just wanted to surprise you. It's not like you visit us with any regularity."

Guilt. The most evil weapon in a mother's arsenal. I folded like a deck of cards. "I'm sorry, I am really glad to see you..."

"It's alright. And we won't be here for too long. Just a week or so to settle the contract..."

"Oh no," my father said reappearing at the door. "We are staying as long as it takes to straighten this mess out," he said pointing to me.

I sighed. Well... then. This was going to make life interesting, to say the least.


End file.
